by H. Q. Frost
Justin smiled at Lilith. "You're trouble," he said quietly. "Fun, but trouble."
"I change pepperonis on pizza for a living." Lilith smirked at him.
"My kind of girl." Unable to hide the genuine happiness she brought out in him, he grinned wider.
Paul had finally wrangled the 'lovebirds' outside to actually golf.
"Here's an idea," Lilith whispered in Justin's ear. "I'm gonna stay here and drink, you go put balls in little holes."
Justin barked out a laugh and his hand wrapped around her back. If he wanted to sell Lilith as his girlfriend, physical contact would fool onlookers, but it was also confusing the paid-for line.
"Haven't seen you have this good a time in a while," Frank said, patting Justin's back before bringing his attention to Lilith. "You golf?"
"No." Lilith chuckled at the stupid question.
"He says he doesn't golf either. He does."
"He says a lot." Lilith grinned at Justin while placing her hands onto his shoulder and leaning into him.
"Come on." Paul impatiently waved them over and Lilith exhaled quietly with no desire to watch them play.
Justin leaned to her ear. "Since you like to throw this in my face, I'm going to do it to you. This is paid for. You have to do what I ask you to. If this were a real date, you could actually object and sit in the bar."
She laughed and looked at him with a subtle shake of her head. Keeping her mouth shut, she was dragged hole to hole by six men golfing like they had money riding on the game. Her feet hurt from the tennis shoes by the eighteenth hole and she was thankful Ian never forced her to golf like she knew he sometimes did with clients.
When a woman in a low-cut shirt drove up on a golf cart with a tray of drinks, Justin held out money for a tip. Not noticing Lilith, she pushed her breasts toward him. Forgetting he had a fake girlfriend, he pushed the money between her breasts while the other men, excluding his father, laughed enviously. Frank eyed Lilith who felt a small pang of jealousy, but not enough to make the fake smile she'd worn all afternoon falter.
During Justin's swing Frank approached Lilith. "Paul's been talking about you all afternoon."
"Has he?"
He nodded, taking a drink of his beer while his eyes traveled from her feet to her breasts. "To be honest, I didn't expect you to be so…" He glanced around. "Attractive. Not really Justin's style."
"What is his style?"
"Tattoos, older women, a scene he doesn't need to be in anymore."
"I could be tattooed, older, and part of that scene."
Lowering his voice he said, "Nah. You're the girl you take home to mom to bake cakes with her. Then you take her home and fuck that pretty mouth till she can't feel her jaw anymore."
Her pulse heightened with discomfort and her eyes narrowed.
"You want to hang with the big boys, you have to expect this kind of talk." He grinned, taking another drink of his beer.
Lilith shook her head, keeping her mouth shut, reminding herself she was a paid-for escort.
"You're not gonna knock around any balls?" The stupid smirk he wore reminded her a lot of Sloan, only making her dislike for Frank burrow deeper.
Fighting to hold her composure she responded, "I don't golf."
"I've got some nice balls you'd like."
Ignoring him, she watched Justin as he executed his swing.
Frank looked over his shoulder at Justin. "He's just a boy." A patronizing chuckle was accompanied by a shake of his head. "I'm a man." His hand cupped his crotch then thrust toward her; she took a step back.
Not one of the other men noticed Frank's antics and she wanted to call out to get Justin's attention. He was making her uncomfortable to the point she was ready to walk away from the date.
"I know what a woman wants." Frank glanced toward the others before reaching forward and unexpectedly cupping her breast.
Lilith grabbed his wrist, digging her thumbnail into his flesh. "Don't touch me," she warned.
As much as she wanted to hit him, like she suggested Justin did earlier, she was afraid if she assaulted one of Paul Borg's friends he would cause trouble for her or Luxe.
Frank grinned. "You like it rough." With a checking glance over his shoulder again, he grabbed her ponytail and yanked her head back.
Panic flit through her as thoughts of what Sloan had done to her rushed back, expelling a quick yelp from the shock. She glared at him, wanting to grab his throat and dig her nails in until she ripped it clean from his neck, but she didn't have to. Justin grabbed his shoulder with a firm yank that spun Frank to face him and meet the unexpected knuckles of Justin's fist, sending him to the turf. The other four men frantically tried to defuse the situation, fully knowing Justin had the capability of losing it. Paul was bitching at Justin while one of the other men held him back from Frank. There was so much commotion, Lilith stood planted, staring at Justin's red face seething with anger.
"Are you alright?" Paul finally asked her.
"Yes."
"Maybe don't tell Jacks about that. He won't take kindly to one of his girls being assaulted," he quietly informed her.
"I don't take kindly to being assaulted," she scoffed.
"Go with Justin. He'll get you home."
"It's still five hours paid." Lilith scowled at him and he nodded his head frantically while waving her away.
Wanting distance from Frank who was cursing Justin and threatening lawsuits, Lilith headed for the clubhouse. Before she made it too far, Justin was at her side. The anger he wore was a clear warning not to talk.
"You hurt?" he finally forced out.
Uncertain whom his anger was directed at she felt the need to defend her actions. "No. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to cause a scene."
"You punch him in the face!" he snapped at her.
"Look." She stopped walking and faced him. "I'm working. I shouldn't have to worry about or even consider punching people in the face."
"Fuck you, Justin!" Frank's garbled tantrum called from a yard away.
The vile man that got what was deserved made her uncomfortable even at Justin's side. She grabbed his arm, heading inside straight to the bar. Lilith looked out the sliding door seeing Paul, Frank, and the others slowly approaching the building with Frank holding a towel to his bloodied face.
"He's going to talk about pressing charges but you just keep your mouth shut 'cause he'll manage to get us both arrested," Justin muttered to her, lifting his bottle to his lips, finishing a full beer in a few swallows.
Lilith turned her back to the restaurant and stared into the bubbling gold liquid that Justin had poured into a glass for her.
After fifteen solid minutes of silence, she glanced at him. "Maybe I should go?"
"If that's what you want, I won't stop you."
She pulled her phone out.
"Hey." A gentle touch landed on her hand. "If you tell Jacks, he won't let me take you out again. I'm not telling you not to tell him, I'm just saying he won't be happy."
"I know," she snapped. Of course she wanted to tell Ian; he was her fiancé. For that reason alone he should know.
"I don't blame you if you won't accept another date either." The despondency in his gaze had her pushing her phone back into her purse. She didn't want to end their date, but she wanted as far away from the clubhouse as possible.
"What time is it?" She glanced up at a clock across the room.
"Date's technically over in an hour, but my dad will pay you for the full five hours."
"You're going to get your ass handed to you, Borg!" Frank growled while walking through the bar from the bathroom.
Justin's gaze didn't leave Lilith as he lifted his hand, flipping Frank off.
An affable smile spread across her lips. "I'm hungry."
"Food's shit here."
"Then take me somewhere else."
He had assumed she'd want to get the hell out of there, and not with him. With a smile, he stood from the stool and held out his hand.
"Dad," he called over to Paul who was trying to calm Frank down.
Paul waved his hand, annoyed with Justin then looked at Lilith with an embarrassed expression and nodded. Lilith scooted closer to Justin when she noticed Frank eyeing her.
"Frank," Justin called out and cockily smirked when he looked over. "Have your lawyer call me." With Lilith on his arm, he headed for the door and stayed by her side while they retrieved his jeep.
"No Camaro?"
"I was off-roading this morning," he explained while smiling at her.
"What's that mean?"
With a chuckle he responded, "I'll take you one day."
She got into the mud-covered jeep that was almost as muddy inside as out.
"Sorry about that. I didn't have time for interior cleaning." Doing his best, he hurried to brush away dried mud.
When he pulled out of the parking lot, her phone rang. "That's going to be Tony," she mumbled, retrieving her phone from her purse but when she looked at the screen she saw it was Ian. "Hello?" she cautiously answered, sensing she'd be in trouble.
"Where are you going? Why did Tony say you just left the course but didn't tell him?"
"Justin and I are getting some dinner. There's an hour left and he'll bring me home. You can tell Tony he can go home, because apparently he's not talking to me."
"He said he texted you but you didn't respond."
LILITH knows what's fated
"I didn't get a text," I mutter.
"Is everything alright? You were supposed to stay there."
"Yes, fine." I'm pissed Tony didn't call me; positive he was trying to get me into trouble.
"You're not supposed to do shit like this, Lily."
"Mmhmm." Not much else I can say at the moment.
"I'll see you in a few hours. I'm going out with Karen for a while."
"Okay." I try to keep a pleasant tone.
"I love you."
"You too." Hanging up, I push my phone away.
Justin glances at me. "Everything cool?"
"Yeah." I smile. "You can drive me home later, right?"
"Absolutely. What do you want to eat?"
"A hotdog." I look over at him and he's wearing a grin I imagine tracing with my tongue.
It's freezing and we're standing outside eating Chicago style hot dogs. He's told me a bit about off-roading and I want to experience mudding over rough terrain at high speeds. Despite Frank, today's been fun. Justin is hilarious and I'm a giggling mess while we're together. The man's a lawyer but if I weren't told that, I would think he had a job and life he didn't take too seriously.
I'm not one for making fun of people, but when he does it I can't stop laughing.
"Right there. Is he her child or pet?" He points out a woman who has a child on a leash. The little boy is spastically running in circles and she's trying to keep up. "I'm pretty sure that kid's walking her though. She looks like a dog."
"Oh, Justin." I laugh. "That's mean."
"But it makes you laugh."
"Can we go off-roading now?"
He looks me over, cringing. "Not dressed like that."
"I'm sorry I made you be seen with me in public like this, but do I need to be dressed nice to go off-roading?" I cock my eyebrow, fighting my grin that looking at him brings out of me.
"You can wear whatever you want, I'm just tired of lookin' at it."
"Then you can take me home and I'll change first." Excitement starts to fill me until I see he looks a little distraught. "Or we don't have to." I shouldn't have assumed he'd want to spend more time with me.
"I'm all for it but the date ended twenty minutes ago and my dad's not paying over the five hours. I figured I'd pick up the extra hour, but my limit to spend on a date a month is roughly twelve grand." He smirks halfheartedly.
The thought he pays two thousand an hour for my time makes me feel disgusting, but this is my job. With Justin it's easy to forget that. I feel terrible about this and I need to talk to Ian about his rates. Eventually he'll stop paying because rates are too high and that means I won't be seeing him anymore.
"How about I forget about anything after five hours and you just take me for a good time? If I have a terrible time, you pay for the extra hour and we call it a night?"
"So this is an actual date then?" The flirty smile he wears so often creeps along his lips, and though this is a meditated smile, it turns me on.
"I hardly think off-roading can be considered a date."
"You've never gone with me. I make it romantic." He chuckles.
"Stay here, kay?"
"Sure." He nodded, watching her rush into the condo.
She was back out ten minutes later wearing tight jeans, untied boots, and a hooded sweatshirt.
"Better?" She smirked at him.
"Much."
It took them forty minutes to get out of the city to a hilly, muddy area that had abounding no trespassing signs.
"Just ignore those." He chuckled when he noticed her concerned expression. "You buckled?"
"God, I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" She couldn't tame the grin splitting her lips.
"I hope not. I'll take it easy."
Laughter consumed her as they launched from small hills, trucking through thick mud that covered the windows and started seeping in from the bottom seals of the door. One hill was rougher than expected and it firmly planted them into sludge. The tires spun, flinging mud, but the jeep didn't budge.
"Shit." He laughed, opening his door.
Glancing at her, he got out and circled once. She opened her door noticing the tires mired down.
"What if you push?" she suggested.
"I think that's our only option." Already covered in mud, he walked to her door. "Climb over. I'll tell you when and you accelerate softly."
"You're a mess." She laughed at him.
"If you get out, you will be too. Go on." He patted her side and she slid over.
Looking at the muddy handprint he left on her hip, she chuckled. "You did that on purpose."
He grinned, disappearing behind the jeep. "Push in the clutch then—"
"I know!" she shouted to him, slowly accelerating while he rocked the Jeep.
It took a few tries but the jeep got enough traction and sped out of the muddy rut, shooting wet earth all over Justin. Lilith looked at him in the rearview mirror and began giggling.
She got out, rolling with laughter. "Oh my god!"
He stood un-amused, wiping mud from his face, flinging it to the ground. After dragging himself out of the trench and onto the green grass, he looked over at where she stood silently laughing at his expense.
"That's so funny." Her jovial laughter hurt her stomach. He reached out to touch her and she jumped back with a shriek. "I don't think so!" Still laughing, she said, "Here," while pulling her Chicago hoodie off.
When her shirt rode up exposing the soft tempting flesh of her stomach, Justin's eyes fixed to the appealing sight until she was holding the hoodie out to him.
"Use it," she urged when he was skeptical to take it.
"It's fine." He continued to wipe mud clumps from his face.
"Come here." She stepped toward him, using her hoodie to wipe his face. "Can you see?" She giggled through closed lips, attempting to hold back her laughter.
"Yes," he replied wryly.
"That wasn't my fault. Why would you stand behind the tire?" Boisterous laughter escaped her again while wiping his face.
"Only place I had for support on the hill." He looked back to where the jeep had been stuck and in his head cursed his beloved toy.
After controlling her laughter again she said, "Well, that was stupid."
Before she could step back he put his hand to her side under her shirt and halted her. "So, do I have to pay?" He pulled her close but not enough to touch her with his mud drenched clothes.
"Not after that." She chuckled again. "That'd just be mean." As she reached up and pulled mud from his wild hair he wrapped hi
s hand around to her back, yanking her just a little closer. Their bodies faintly touched and his lips, only inches from hers, taunted her.
Staring at him with a lust filled gaze, she softly, seductively said, "I'm going to send you my dry cleaning bill."
He started to laugh, letting her go and stepping away. After observing her clothes, she lifted her shirt to see the muddy proof of where his hand had sat on her flesh. Feigning a scowl, she met his gaze before bending down and picking up a clump of mud, tossing it at his face. He lunged at her but she quickly darted away. When he reached out again, he slipped, and as he fell he grabbed her leg, tripping her to the ground. She tried to wiggle away but was laughing too hard as he crawled up her, pinning her to the damp grass.
"Just a little mud." He grinned, pushing her shirt up before wiping his finger over her stomach.
She gasped. "Cold mud." But it was the small gush from between her legs that gave her chills.
"Let me give you a tattoo." He swiped his finger through the wet mud on his jacket to draw on her pale skin.
Her giggles made her stomach bounce while he meticulously worked on the image. Minutes later he lifted himself up so she could observe his artwork.
"That is awful!" She laughed, looking at a muddy heart and smiley face. "Do not become a tattoo artist!"
He grinned, grabbing the silver chain that was around her neck and admired the charm of a steer skull that her father gave her. "That's cool."
Lilith stared at him, and even covered in mud he was gorgeous. The attraction she had to him went beyond just physical though and she reached her hands behind her neck to unclasp the necklace. She then fastened it around his neck and tucked it into his shirt. The situation was becoming dangerous but she couldn't pull herself away from the developing detriment.
His blue eyes bounced back and forth while he stared into hers, studying their color and all the flecks that Ian admired enough to have a specific count of. Justin's admiration slowly slid down her face and didn't stop until he reached her belly button. Dipping his head, he softly kissed next to her navel. With a quick inhale, she pushed up, deftly rolling him to his back to straddle his hips. She unzipped his coat then pushed his black polo shirt up. The tips of her fingers slowly pulled over the firm canvas of his tattooed stomach. The moment their eyes locked he was certain their first kiss would be one of, if not the best in his life.