by Sandi Lynn
“Why?” Her brows furrowed.
“Because she doesn’t believe in relationships, marriage, etc. She’s a drama-free woman to date.” I smiled.
“Interesting.” She bit into a meatball.
“I have to go. Edward is waiting downstairs for me.” I kissed her forehead. “Make sure to lock up when you leave.”
“I will. Have fun on your date.”
“Oh, I definitely will.” I winked as I stepped onto the elevator.
Knocking on the door of her apartment, I was surprised when Evelyn answered it.
“Hello, Evelyn. You look lovely.”
“Thank you, Jackson. Come on in. Emily will be out in a minute.”
Stepping inside, I took a look around her apartment. It was nice and very cozy. It was the type of apartment that the minute you stepped inside, you felt at home.
“So, do you know the man that Emily has set you up with?” I asked.
“No. I’ve never met him, but Em says he’s tall, dark, and handsome. He’s a gynecologist.”
I tilted my head and narrowed my eye. “Is he Emily’s doctor?”
“No. He’s an associate at her doctor’s office. Her doctor was delivering a baby, so Dylan stepped in and saw her. Super weird that he had emailed her from Match wanting to go on a date. She had no clue it was him until she was on the table. I’m not too sure how I feel about him, knowing that he’s been all up in her space, if you know what I mean.”
I swallowed hard at the thought and a feeling of uneasiness overtook me.
“I heard that,” Emily spoke as she walked into the living area. “Hi, Jackson.” She smiled brightly. “He’s a doctor. It’s his job. We’ve already been over this.” She sat down on the couch and put on her heels.
“So this guy has seen you naked?” I asked.
“Not you too.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’m surprised you didn’t mention it when I picked you up.”
“I didn’t know I had to.” Her eye narrowed.
“Considering you just had Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome all up in your space and then we had sex right after in the back of my limo. No wonder you were so horny.”
“Wait a minute,” Evelyn interrupted. “You had sex in the back of his limo right after your gyno appointment?”
“You two,” she pointed her finger at us, “are being idiots. Now let’s go before Dylan thinks we stood him up.”
“Wouldn’t want Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome to think that now, would we?” I mumbled.
“I heard that, Mr. Caine.” Emily grabbed her purse and walked out the door.
I was usually a pretty laid-back guy, but this piece of information that she neglected to tell me really made me mad. Knowing that he saw the woman that I had sex with in that way, plus wanted to date her, made me already hate him. Where the fuck was this coming from?
We arrived at Per Se precisely at seven o’clock and the hostess led us to the table where the guy was already seated.
“Dylan.” Emily smiled. “This is Jackson Caine, and this beautiful woman is Evelyn.”
“Nice to meet you, Jackson.” He held out his hand.
I was hesitant to shake it, but being the nice person I was, I did anyway. We took our seats at the round table and I ordered a bottle of champagne for the four of us. Dylan and Evelyn were engaged in a conversation, so I leaned over and whispered in Emily’s ear.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me. That’s kind of fucked up, if you ask me.”
“Oh my God. Will you drop it already?” she spoke through gritted teeth.
“No. He wanted to date you.”
“So what. Lots of guys want to date me, just like a lot of women want to date you.”
“But you aren’t sitting across from someone who has seen me naked.”
“Give it time, Jackson. I’m sure my time will come. I’m pretty positive you’ve slept with half, if not more, of the women in this city.”
“Are you two okay?” Evelyn asked.
“We’re fine.” Emily smiled.
After finishing off the bottle of champagne, dinner, and dessert, I paid the bill and we stepped outside. Evelyn and Dylan seemed quite attracted to each other and decided to go off and spend the rest of the evening alone.
“I think I just made a match.” Emily smiled as she slid into the back of my limo.
“They seemed to hit it off. Am I driving you home now or did you want to go somewhere else?” I asked.
“We can go back to my place.” She grinned. “I have chocolates and wine.”
“Sounds sexy.” The corners of my mouth curved upwards.
I had done nothing but think about fucking her all night. In fact, it was all I seemed to think about, even when she wasn’t around. She radiated sexiness and my cock couldn’t seem to get enough of her. There was something I needed to talk to her about, but I’d wait until after sex. I didn’t want to ruin the moment.
Emily
We barely made it through the door and my dress was off and Jackson had me pinned against the wall, devouring my body in an animal-like manner. I didn’t mind because it was all I thought about all night. He put on a condom and thrust inside me, my arms above my head with his hands gripping them tight. As I wrapped my legs around his waist, his free hand encircled my body and held me up as he pounded into me, causing me to orgasm with only a few pumps. A loud moan rumbled in his chest as he slowed down and then halted while he came.
Letting go of my wrists, he kissed my lips, pulled out of me, and went into the bathroom. After slipping back into my panties, I walked to my bedroom and grabbed my silk robe from behind the door.
“Nice place you have here,” he spoke as he came out from the bathroom.
“Thanks.” I headed towards the kitchen and he followed.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” he spoke with seriousness.
“Okay.”
I reached up into the cabinet, grabbed two wine glasses, and poured some wine in each.
“Don’t drink that yet,” I spoke as I handed him the glasses. “I still have to get the chocolates out.”
He chuckled as he took our wine over to the couch while I grabbed a box of Godiva truffles and took a seat next to him.
“What did you need to talk to me about?” I asked as I turned my body and faced him.
“We’re both businesspeople, right?”
“Last time I checked.” I smiled.
“And we’re both used to dealing in negotiations. I do it on a daily basis and I’m sure you do it with clothing vendors and such. Correct?”
“Yes. You are correct. I negotiate all the time.”
“Good, because I want to negotiate a deal with you.”
A light laugh escaped my lips. “What kind of deal?”
He inhaled a sharp breath. “You and I are a good fit. Wouldn’t you say?” His finger ran down my hair.
“Yeah. We are a good fit.”
“We get along well, neither one of us wants to get involved in any type of relationship thing, and we have fun together. The two of us are uncomplicated.”
“True.” I nodded.
“So, I was thinking we could negotiate and sign a contract where we would continue spending time together without any complications.”
“What?” I laughed. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Think of it as a companion contract. Me and you would see each other, go out on dates, have sex, and spend time together without any of the other bullshit that goes along with dating.”
“What bullshit are you referring to?” I cocked my head.
“You know. Falling in love, trying to change yourself, wanting to know what the other person is doing at all times. The shit that happens when two people get too comfortable with each other and then everything starts to go to hell. Listen, Emily. I like you and I want to spend time with you and only you, and I’m hoping you’d only want to spend time with me. No strings, no drama, nothing. Just the two o
f us enjoying each other’s company and having a good time.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” I asked.
“Yes, but you’ve had your fair share of man drama and I’ve had my fair share of woman drama, so by signing a contract, the two of us could avoid all that. I’d set some ground rules and you’d do the same. We’d negotiate until we both were comfortable with the arrangement.”
What he said totally blew me away, but I was game. What did I have to lose? Nothing, as far as I was concerned.
“I like you too, Jackson, and I like spending time with you. So, let’s do it. You draw up a contract and I’ll do the same, we’ll look both of them over and we’ll negotiate. How long would this contract be for?”
“I was thinking six months.”
“Okay. Let’s give it a shot. You only live once, right?” I smiled.
“Right.” His lips brushed against mine.
Chapter 18
Emily
Jackson spent the night and we had sex three times and once in the morning before he left to go home and shower because he had plans with his best friend, Samuel. I wasn’t going to go into the shop, but I’d left my laptop there and I needed it because I was going to spend the weekend researching different things for my online boutique, mainly warehouses.
When I stepped through the door to the shop, Katie was behind the counter and Noelle was helping a customer.
“How did it go last night?” Katie asked.
“Great. Dylan and Evelyn really seemed to hit it off.”
“Have you heard from her?”
“Not yet. I was going to give her a call later.”
“So, did Mr. Caine spend the night?” She grinned.
“Yes.”
Even though she was my best friend and I told her everything, I couldn’t bring myself to tell what Jackson and I had discussed last night, at least not until we made it official. After grabbing my laptop from the back, I grabbed a piece of chocolate from under the counter.
“I’m headed home. If you need me, call.”
“I will.” Katie smiled.
As I was walking towards the door, a woman about five foot five with brown hair and blonde highlights walked in and stopped in front of me.
“Excuse me, are you Emily, the owner of this lovely shop?”
“Yes, I am.” I smiled.
“I’m Jules, Jackson’s sister.” She extended her hand.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” I placed my hand in hers.
“I was at his house yesterday while he was getting ready for your date and he told me about you. I was just walking by on my way to another store and I decided to pop in and see if you might be working.”
“I’m actually not working today. I just stopped by to grab my laptop.”
“That was perfect timing, then.” She smiled. “I don’t want to keep you. It was nice to meet you and I wanted to let you know that I love your store and I plan on shopping here a lot.”
“Thank you, Jules. It was nice to finally meet Jackson’s twin. He talks about you all the time.”
“We should do lunch sometime,” she spoke.
“I’d like that.”
“Maybe we should double date. I’ll check my schedule to see when my boyfriend and I have the same day off.”
“Sounds fun. It must be hard to spend time together with you two being ER doctors.”
“It is. But is that such a bad thing?” She winked.
“Probably not.” I smiled.
“I’ll get something set up and have Jackson call you,” she spoke.
“Looking forward to it.”
As soon as I got home, I put on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top and looked at the torn up bed from my and Jackson’s sex fest. As I stood there and stared at it, I sort of found myself missing him. But I would go as far to say that I missed the sex, not really him. Right? Right. After changing the sheets and throwing the dirty ones in the washer, I made myself a sandwich and took my laptop to the couch.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what Jackson and I talked about last night, so I opened up a word document and began typing out a list of companionship rules. This was crazy, yet fun at the same time. Just the fact that Jackson wanted to keep it simple and drama free was a turn on. I could have my cake and eat it too and that right there was the best part of life. After taking hours to finish my rules list, I started the search for a warehouse. Once I had that secured, I could start placing orders for clothing and hire some help.
When I stepped into the shop Monday morning, my phone rang, and it was Jackson calling.
“Hello.”
“Hey there, beautiful. How was your weekend?”
“It was great. How was yours?”
“Fantastic. Did you get a chance to write down some rules at all?”
“I did and I’m all finished. How about you?”
“I did as well. What’s your schedule like for today?”
“I’m working until about six.”
“I have a dinner meeting at seven o’clock and I’m not sure how long it’s going to run. Are you free for lunch?”
A small smile crossed my face.
“I am. What time?”
“How about noon at my office? I’ll have my secretary cater in something for us. I would take you to a restaurant, but I think we need to discuss our negotiation behind closed doors.”
“I agree and I’ll see you at noon.”
“Great. I’ll talk to you later.”
After ending the call, I turned around and saw Katie standing there with furrowed brows.
“What?” I asked.
“Was that Jackson?”
“Yes.”
“What did you finish?”
“Why are you eavesdropping?” I took a sip of my coffee.
“I can’t help it. What’s going on? What are you two up to?” She placed her purse behind the counter.
“Fine. I’ll tell you, but you cannot tell anyone about this. Do you understand?” I pointed my finger at her.
“My lips are sealed.” She smiled.
“Jackson and I are going to be making a negotiated companionship deal.”
“A what?” Her brow arched.
“We like spending time with each other, and the sex is beyond anything I have ever experienced in my life. So we’re both coming up with a list of rules to follow while we date each other.”
She busted out into laughter. “What?”
I sighed. “Neither one of us wants a relationship. We just want companionship. And in order to do that, we have to have some set rules to keep the drama out.”
“Oh my God.” She laughed. “You two are certifiably crazy. Who the fuck does that?”
“Two people who don’t want bullshit and drama in their life.”
“I can’t right now.” She laughed as she walked away.
Rolling my eyes, I flipped the sign to open and unlocked the door.
“By the way, have you talked to Evelyn?” Katie asked.
“I spoke with her yesterday and she and Dylan ended up spending the whole weekend together. She says she’s in love.”
“Weird how the one girl in the world who is totally anti-relationship sets one of her best friends up with someone and insta-love happens. You better hope it works out or you’ll be responsible for Evelyn’s despair.”
“Evelyn is a big girl and she’ll be just fine if things don’t work out.” I rolled my eyes.
As I was getting ready to leave for my lunch date with Jackson, Edward walked into the shop.
“Hello, Miss Wade. Mr. Caine sent me to get you for your meeting.”
“Hi, Edward. Please, call me Emily.” I grabbed my purse, headed out the door, and climbed into the limo.
Chapter 19
Jackson
“Audrey, is lunch almost here? Miss Wade is on her way.”
“Yes, Mr. Caine. It should be here shortly.”
“Thank you. I want all calls held and I don’t want to be dis
turbed under any circumstances.”
“I’ll make sure you’re not.”
I gave her a small smile and stepped into my office. Before sitting down behind my desk, I heard Samuel’s voice.
“I still can’t believe you and this girl are negotiating relationship rules.”
“Her name is Emily and it’s not a relationship.”
“Companionship, relationship, whatever. It’s all the same, Jackson. Shit, where can I find an Emily? These women nowadays drive me nuts. I went out last night with this girl named Tamara. We had a great dinner and then headed back to her place and had sex. This morning, I woke up to a text message saying that she already missed me. I’d only known her for what? A day.”
“Annoying, isn’t it?” Emily smiled as she stepped into my office.
I couldn’t help but grin when I saw her lean beautiful body standing there.
“Very annoying,” Samuel spoke as he walked over to her and extended his hand. “You must be Emily. I’m Samuel, Jackson’s best friend.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Samuel.” She placed her hand in his.
“You don’t by any chance have a sister, do you?” he asked with a cocky grin.
“No. Sorry. I’m an only child.”
“Damn it. Well, I’ll let you two get on with your meeting.”
Walking over to Emily, I gave her a kiss.
“Welcome to my office.”
“Thank you. It’s very nice.”
“Lunch should be here in a minute, so let’s sit down at the table and we can go over our lists.”
Just as we took our seats, Audrey walked in with a lunch that consisted of two different kinds of salads, three types of sandwiches, fresh fruit, and a cheese plate.
“Thank you, Audrey.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Caine. Enjoy.”
Emily grabbed a tuna fish sandwich while I took the turkey and cheese.
“Did you bring your list?” I asked.
“I did.” She smiled as she reached inside her purse and pulled it out.
“Okay. I’ll read my list first and then we’ll negotiate from there,” I spoke.
“By all means, go ahead.” She smiled.
“Rule number 1: We see each other at least four times a week. No matter how busy we are, we will make time.