by Harley James
Chapter 6
Jessie would have loved to meet with the beverage distributor—Uncle Mason had never let her pick her own liquor for her station—but she couldn’t have stayed with Nate for another five minutes without either stripping him naked or killing him. He went from sweet, protective heartthrob to arrogant, sexy a-hole in three point nine seconds.
He left her uncertain where to step next. Kinda like driving on a Minnesota lake in December, which was dicey because you could fall through the ice that early in the season.
She didn’t know how many seasons she’d have to spend with Nate before she’d feel completely comfortable stepping onto the ice.
And she needed to stop thinking about him like right now. Seriously. The man was taking up way too much cranial space.
But there had been some yummy muscles under his cotton shirt. Any straight girl who didn’t replay that bathroom encounter—and hello, the tryst in her apartment yesterday—didn’t have a pulse.
When Jessie pulled up to said apartment, however, Uncle Mason stood outside under the portico, effectively making her libido vamoose. The fact that he was smoking a cigarette made her heart start to drum in her throat. He only smoked when things were bad. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and shut the car door. “Is Gramma okay?”
He crushed out the cigarette and followed her into the building, rubbing his hands together before blowing on them to warm them. “Tilly’s fine, are you?”
“Of course. Why do you ask?” She spared him a glance as she twisted her key in the lock, hearing Scourge bark on the other side of the door. Something was off with Mason. Beads of sweat clung to his temples, yet he was acting like he was chilled through. “Are you getting sick? I told you to take the probiotics I brought over when I was there for Grampa’s birthday party.”
“No, I’m fine. We’re all fine.” He frowned. “Listen, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you working at Mirage. You need to stay far away from Nate Temple and the other owners.”
“Are you kidding me? You were the one all riled up to take them down a few hours ago.”
“I know, but Sonja called a while ago to tell me she was fired without an explanation after going into the storage room downstairs. She said it was like a crypt—cold, with candles everywhere. The worst part? Apparently there’s a stockpile of Satanic paraphernalia all over the place.”
Jessie’s hand paused on Scourge’s fur, her mind going blank because it was such an off the wall accusation. “Satanic?”
Mason’s tired brown eyes came alive. “Yep. Sonja said it was literally in piles on the floor like someone was opening a cult store or something.”
“Halloween is next weekend. Maybe they’re buying into the whole ‘I can do whatever I want one day a year’ Freudian id thing. You know, dress up like your alter ego. The side that drives your basic needs. Sonja probably saw Mirage’s decorations for the grand opening.” Jessie went to the cupboard where she kept her vitamins. How was she going to get rid of him so she could focus on her sex-for-hire contract? “Want some vitamin D? You look really pale, Mase.”
He shivered and shook his head, dismissing her concern. “If they were only decorations, why would they fire Sonja for finding them?”
“Sonja’s no angel. You’ve always had a soft spot for her, and unfortunately, soft spots make you blind. The new owners don’t seem to tolerate tardiness or laziness like you did.” Which, come to think of it, was probably a strong reason why Mason had gotten himself into the bind he had. He’d been a kind and forgiving boss, but he’d taken it to an extreme and had excused a lot of unprofessional behavior. Behavior that had somehow come onto the radar of Unholy Inc. It made sense then that Nate had swooped in to press his advantage. It happened in business all the time.
The problem with Nate’s methodology was that he’d muddied Mason’s name in the process. That still burned, especially because it had gotten back to Gramma and Grandpa and damn near broke their hearts.
“I’m not buying it, Jess. Our club loyals loved Sonja. That more than made up for her less-desirable employee traits. But the point right now is, I want you out of there. I don’t trust anyone at Unholy Inc. Especially that blonde woman. That eerie, ice beauty gives me the creeps.”
Jessie couldn’t help but smile. Katherine probably ate guys like Mason for breakfast.
He continued, “The only good part of this whole dirty business is I’m using their buyout money as down payment on a boutique-style liquor store in the new strip mall a mile from my place. I met with the contractors this morning.”
Jessie leaned a hip against the counter. “Have you done your homework on this?”
Mason waved a hand in the air as though market research and other entrepreneurial groundwork was a waste of time. “Come be my manager. You wouldn’t have to stay up all night anymore. Tell me what hours will work with your class schedule, and as soon as I get everything ready, we’ll talk money.”
That was sweet. Really, it was. But there were three things wrong with that proposal. One, she was a night owl, so daytime hours didn’t appeal. Two, the salary wouldn’t come close to what Nate was offering. And three…
It sounded boring as crap.
Besides all that, if she wasn’t able to let JBlaze out to take the edge off her stress level, she’d probably have to resort to therapy. Not happening. “That could take months. What am I supposed to do until you open?”
“Murray’s?”
“Really? I’m no waitress. I thought my dismal attempt at your club convinced you of that.”
“The waitresses at Murray’s make huge tips. Don’t sell yourself short, kid.”
Jessie laughed as she walked over to hug him. He’d never had kids of his own, but every once in a while he tried the surrogate father thing with her. She loved him for it even though he was off by a mile most of the time. She took his arm and walked him to the door. “I appreciate your concern, but Nate has promised me a hefty raise with lots of bonuses.”
Mason’s eyebrows dipped down. “Nate? Since when are you on a first name basis with him?”
Whoops. Guess she’d better not tell him she was going to sleep with the guy. “Nate. Mr. Temple. Whatever. He’s going to pay my bills.” Huh, that sounded kinda bad, too. She quickly opened the door.
His lips pinched. “It’s not all about money, Jessie.”
So true, except when it wasn’t. “After Mom blew Gramma and Grandpa’s retirement savings, she asked for my help to keep them together long-term. I promised I’d do whatever I could. Money talks.”
Mason paused in the doorway. “What?”
Oh crap. Don’t open this Pandora’s box.
Though siblings, Mason and her mom had always been at odds. Aurora’s death hadn’t dimmed his enmity either. Jessie had always been caught in the middle because even though her mother had been self-absorbed and her uncle all too often weak-willed, she loved them both.
She pushed him out of the doorway and into the hall, his back to the stairwell. “Never mind. I’ll text you tomorrow.”
Mason didn’t move a muscle. “Your pathetic excuse for a mother not only expected you to provide for her elderly parents, but also to make sure they were never separated? Jesus!” He shoved his hands in his salt and pepper hair. “What were you supposed to do to make that much money? Take your clothes off at the gentlemen’s club five nights a week? Spread your ass across some horny guy’s lap for a night of bachelor party fun? Un-fucking-believable.”
“That’s not fair, Mason. Her request wasn’t mean-spirited like that.”
He pulled at his short beard, his face fully flush now. “Of course it was. Aurora manipulated people like a master. Especially you, Jessie. God, I felt so sorry for you all those years you had to live with her. She’d give you just enough praise and affection to keep you hungry for more. I thought the youthful blinders had finally fallen, and you were able to see your mother for who she really was: a petty, jealous, scheming addict.”
&
nbsp; “That’s enough.” Tears stung her eyes. Nate ascended the stairwell behind Mason, a soft look on his face that punched her in the gut. When he noticed Mason, his jaw clenched. Then he looked beyond her uncle down the hallway, sudden anger radiating from his features.
A gust of frigid air scratched across her face like skeletal fingertips. What? She peered both ways down the hall, but didn’t see or hear anyone. She shivered and glanced back at Nate who raised his arms like he was warding blows. His head snapped back violently, his golden skin paling like he was on the verge of needing immediate medical attention. His hand shot out to brace against the hallway wall. As she stepped toward him, he took a huge breath, then slowly looked up, winked, and straightened his shoulders.
Like nothing weird had happened. Her mouth snapped shut.
Holy crow.
Had she imagined all that? It was almost as if he’d been attacked by someone or something invisible. Mason was still oblivious, thank heavens, talking to her with his back to Nate, so she nodded while trying to figure out what to do. She didn’t think Mason knew what Nate looked like because Nate’s attorneys had handled all the nitty-gritty of the nightclub sale. But she’d put money on Nate knowing everything about Mason. He seemed to be the kind of guy who liked holding all the cards. If he knew she was standing here getting a watered down third degree from her uncle, approaching her would be a major power move. Why didn’t he press his advantage?
He wasn’t even paying attention to her now, his gaze narrowed down the hall, then behind him, then up at the ceiling focusing all his senses on something. With him distracted, maybe now was a good time to shut this party down. “Thanks for coming, Mase. Get some rest and plenty of fluids. I’ll check on you later, k?” she whispered, then tried to shut her door.
Mason slid his foot into the doorjamb to prevent it from closing. “All I’m saying is, you aren’t responsible for my parents. I know I haven’t been as attentive to Tilly and Walt as I should be. Now that I have the time, I promise I will figure out a way to take care of them. This is not your responsibility, Jessica.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nate start to move down the hall toward her. It was bound to get ugly-weird. “I’m sorry, Mason, I really need to go.”
“Promise me you’ll stay away from Mirage and Nate Temple.”
She watched Nate’s eyes hone in on her uncle. A brick free fell into her gut.
“Why should she do that, Mr. Jacobs?”
Mason swung around, surprise brightening his once-handsome features. “Who are you?”
“Nate Temple, pleased to meet you. Finally.”
Mason glared at Nate’s proffered palm. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Nate’s smile widened. He jingled his keys. “What do you know? I live here.”
Mason’s confused gaze seared Jessie with guilt. “Please tell me you didn’t know.”
“I—I’ve seen him around.” Oh man, that sounded so lame. Nate burst out laughing, and her face scalded remembering…yeah, that. “I didn’t know who he was until this afternoon.”
Mason shook his head as he studied Nate. He looked decidedly ill again as he stepped closer to Jessie to whisper, “I respect that you’re an adult, so I’m trying really hard not to lecture. But you’re in over your head with these guys. I’m in over my head with them. I want the best for my only niece. You wanna grab a bag and head over to my place for the night while you sort things out?”
Her heart squeezed to see the honest concern in his eyes. Her mother had only started giving her that look in the year before she’d died. Before that, however, Jessie had done everything her mother had ever suggested, but it had never been enough.
You need better grades, Jessie. You’ll never get into a good college with Bs.
Jessie, I’ll take you to the bookstore if you convince Gramma to give me her diamond earrings.
Do something with that awful mop on your head and get your ass on a treadmill. A man doesn’t want a frumpy sack of lumps.
Sign up for the charity walk, Jessie, you’ll go to Hell if you don’t do enough good works.
While her mother had been drawing breath on this earth, it had never ended. And Jessie had done it all. Or at least, she’d tried—stupid junk in her trunk was stubborn as hell, but—who was she kidding? She was still trying to please her mother even though Aurora Blaze had been buried for three years already.
Jessie’s eyes caught and held Nate’s. His gaze was like a journey of discovery as they swept across her lips, her neck…
Breasts.
She brought a hand to her belly. Who are you? A charismatic charmer sure, but there seemed to be more beneath the surface. He had money, but didn’t show it. A keen intelligence he downplayed. An admirable amount of patience poured over a pressurized core of pure hot passion.
For better or for worse, it was a puzzle she was having trouble resisting.
Having trouble even coming up with a good enough reason why she should resist. Six feet of hard, tattooed male body. Now there was a piece of equipment she could put to good use.
She tore her gaze from Nate to face her uncle. “I appreciate your concern. I really do. But I’m going to work for Mirage.”
Mason considered her words, and for a moment she thought rage was building inside him by the way his eyes hardened and his chest expanded. Then he blinked, and it was gone.
Weird.
Mason turned to Nate. “Don’t even think about messing with her.”
“Define ‘messing with.’”
“Yeah, that doesn’t help, Nate.” She shot him a warning glare before hugging her uncle. “I’ll keep you posted on the situation with G-ma, okay, Mase? Get. Some. Rest. Now both of you, goodbye.”
She quickly closed the door and stood with her back against it, trying to breathe normally. Moments later, when she pushed away from the door, a soft knock sounded. “Let me in, Jessica.”
Nate. She pressed her hot face to the cool door, her fingers wanting to twist the doorknob so badly even though she needed space. “He was already here when I got home. I haven’t had time to draw up the contract yet.” How much had he actually heard? Good Lord, she hoped he hadn’t heard that bit about Mason feeling sorry for her because she’d been a needy child clinging to infrequent words of praise from her fame-chasing mother. That would be humiliating.
“I’m not going to talk to you through a slab of wood, Jessie. Either open the door, or I’ll open it for you.”
She yanked it open. “You are really something! You going to grab me by the hair and drag me across the floor next, cave dweller?”
He walked into her kitchen and bared his teeth in what wasn’t entirely a smile. “Would you like me to?”
Equal parts outrage and something offensive to modern feminism flared inside her. Could she live with this for seven days? She slammed the door, but it didn’t take the edge off. “What do you want from me?”
His eyes twinkled. As he stepped closer to run a hand through her hair, she froze. He didn’t speak for a long time. Then, “I want honesty. In your words and from your body. I don’t want you to hold anything back. I want your truth or nothing.”
Okay, that was not what she’d expected. Somebody must’ve fed the shivering butterflies in her belly a line of speed. “You must do this all the time, huh?”
“Propose contracts to sleep with my staff? Nah, this is my first time, too.”
“Liar.”
“I’ve never told you an untruth, Jessie.”
“Omission is practically the same thing.”
“I didn’t lead you to believe anything. You simply didn’t enquire about my occupation. Instead I’m assuming you chose to fall back on your own assumptions.”
Well, that was true. But she still didn’t trust him, and she wasn’t about to start anytime soon.
“Did your uncle seem…out of sorts?” he asked.
Definitely, but she didn’t want to mix family with…this. “Lately, he’s been u
nder a lot of stress for some reason.” She didn’t bother toning down the condemnation in her voice.
“He turned a blind eye to drugs in his club, Jess. If he hadn’t agreed to be an informant for the FBI, they would have shut him down and put him on trial. If I hadn’t forced his hand and bought the place, he’d have nothing to show for it.”
“So we should be grateful to you, then?” It was bitchy, but, man, so much was changing at once that she felt out of control. She hated that feeling more than anything.
She brought her gaze to his. His eyes were watchful. Maybe he wasn’t as heartless as she’d first imagined. Maybe she should stop being the very thing she hated the most—judgmental. “Sorry,” she said.
He nodded once. “Need help on that contract?” He looked pointedly over her shoulder to the table where her law books were piled next to her closed laptop.
“The only thing I need your help with is keeping this arrangement a secret.”
His smirk was back. “I can’t promise you that, Jessica. Especially when you have brilliant ideas like sharing your fanny in the beer locker.”
When he took a step toward her, the butterflies migrated up her windpipe to tickle the back of her throat. He was a hard, sweet, and salty piece of candy waiting to be licked, sucked, and savored. And his brain wasn’t bad either.
Except when he was using it on her.
She held up a hand to stop him in his tracks. “I want you to keep Sonja on the payroll.” You’d better say yes, Nate.
“No.”
“But—”
“How do you know about Sonja?”
He’d gone perfectly still again. She rubbed her hands on her arms. “Surely she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“What do you know about Sonja?” he repeated.
“She’s dated my uncle off and on for about ten years. The Satanic-looking stuff she found is decorations for opening night, right? You’re not some devil worshipper, are you?”
His gaze was steady. “What do you think?”