Playing with Fire

by J. S. Cooper

  “Um, I’m confused.”

  “I’ll explain more later.” He squeezed my hand. “Now do as you’re told and go get your stuff.”

  “Okay.” I nodded and sighed. “I guess I can–”

  “Peaches.” He placed a finger to my lip. “Be quiet. Go get your stuff and meet me outside. You now have seven minutes.”

  “Okay. By the way, what’s your name?” I changed the subject to hide my irritation. I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but I was too intrigued to just walk away.

  “I’ll tell you when I meet you outside.” He grinned, and I felt his fingers on my stomach tracing a trail around my belly button. “I’ll tell you everything when we meet again. Don’t be late. You won’t like it if you’re late.”

  I hurried away from him, not sure how I was feeling. I was attracted to him. I was excited by him, but his attitude also annoyed me. I had seven minutes? Really? Says who? He wasn’t my boss. I didn’t even know him. A part of me wanted to just tell him thanks, but no thanks, but I didn’t know what I was saying ‘no thanks’ to. I knew I was about to make the second stupidest mistake of the day. The first had been agreeing to come here to work for Hailey. The second would be going outside to meet the handsome stranger. I felt like I was in a movie as I pulled on my clothes quickly. I wasn’t really sure I was making the right decision, but I couldn’t stop myself from doing it. I grabbed my bag, put on my glasses, and hurried outside, my heart racing rapidly. This whole evening had been an adrenaline rush and I was loathe to end it.

  “You’re late.” He pursed his lips as he stared at me.

  “Late for what?” I rolled my eyes, feeling much more comfortable with my clothes on.

  “I told you you had seven minutes.” His eyes never left mine, and I started to feel like a naughty school kid.

  “So? It’s not like—” I started, but the look he gave me made me pause. “What’s the big deal? I’m here now.”

  “Two minutes late.”

  “Really, dude? You’re going to complain about two minutes?”

  “Two minutes is—” He started.

  “Get over it.” I interrupted him this time, and I could see the surprise in his eyes. “What’s your offer and where’s the money?”

  “The money?”

  “The five grand?” I said, feeling very much like a gold-digger. It almost made me laugh that I was being so forward. I didn’t even recognize myself right now. I wasn’t sure where the bravado had come from.

  “The five grand?” He cocked his head to the side. “You seem to be into the money more than you’re into me.”

  “More than I’m into you?” I laughed out loud. “What are you talking about?”

  “Peaches, why did you come outside?” He flicked his fingers in the air and I watched as a limo pulled up to the curb.

  “I don’t really know,” I mumbled as I watched a tall muscular man step out from the driver’s seat and open the door to the back.

  “Thanks, Tyler. You can wait inside the car.” He nodded at the chauffeur and then looked back at me. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Go where?”

  “You’re a bit mouthy, aren’t you?” He frowned.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You seemed more reserved in the bar.”

  “Maybe because I was scared out of my mind.” I made a face. “I don’t normally spend my days in a too-small bikini, being ogled by a bunch of dirty old men.”

  “Do you consider me a dirty old man?”

  “No.”

  “Do you consider me your savior?” he asked with a small smile.

  “No.” I laughed at the disappointment on his face. “You didn’t save me from anything. I mean, you’re still pretty sketchy. You still asked me to dance for you. And now you asked me to come outside so you can give me money for who knows what.”

  “You still came.”

  “I want to know what you wanted.” I shrugged.

  “And you want your five grand.” He laughed. “Let’s go for a drive. Tyler will start to get worried.”

  “Worried about what?” I frowned and looked him up and down. “From what I can tell, you’re old enough to look after yourself.” I took a step forward and looked at his dark hair. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I see a grey hair.”

  “It’s not polite to insult your savior, Peaches.”

  “You can call me Evie now, and like I said before, you’re not my savior.”

  “Get in the car, Evie.”

  “Hell no.” I took a step back. “I watch Criminal Minds and Law and Order: SVU. Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “Evie, I don’t have patience for this.” He sighed, and I watched a nerve in his throat as he stared at me angrily. I stared at his face. He was even more handsome with my glasses on and in the light. His hair was darker than I’d thought, almost black, and his eyes were a bright blue.

  “Then give me my money and we can both peace out.”

  “Peace out?” He stared at my face for a few seconds and then started laughing. “You’re different.”

  “Different from what?”

  “From what I thought.” He stepped closer to me and lifted my glasses off my face and stared at me for a few seconds before putting them back on the bridge of my nose. “I guess the glasses give you spunk.”

  “Nah, the clothes give me my spunk.” I smiled at him as my body shivered being so close to him.

  “Hold on.” He leaned forward and kissed me hard for a second. I felt my body still at the touch of his warm lips against mine. I could still feel their imprint as he walked over to the limo. I watched as he leaned down and whispered something to Tyler. He stepped back and the limo pulled away and he walked back to me. “Okay, where were we?”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head, feeling dazed. “Where did your friend go?”

  “Home.” He nodded. “He wasn’t happy, but he does what I say.”

  “Why wasn’t he happy?”

  “Because he doesn’t like to leave me with strange women.”

  “What strange women?” I said stupidly. “Me?”

  “Yes you. He doesn’t know what plans you have for me.”

  “He doesn’t know what plans I have for you?” My jaw dropped. “Say what?”

  “Well, it’s not every day a bachelor gets dropped off at his bachelor party and is then seen leaving early with one of the strippers.” He grinned. “Or maybe it is.”

  3

  “Say what?” My eyes widened as I stared at him and the smirk on his face. “You’re the bachelor?” I swallowed as I stared at him in shock. “As in you’re the guy getting married?”

  “Well, yes and no.” He laughed and grabbed my hand.

  “Don’t touch me.” I pulled my hand away from him, still in shock.

  “This is my bachelor party, but I’m not getting married.”

  “What?” I looked at him, feeling confused.

  “I like to have these parties for fun. See who I can meet.”

  “Who you can meet?” I frowned.

  “Girls like you.”

  “Girls like me?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”

  “Girls who are down for some fun and to have a good time.”

  “I’m not down for any fun, and I’m not having a good time.” I shook my head, feeling slightly let down. Was this something he did often?

  “I never force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do.” He stared at me seriously and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. “I have five grand here for you, and you can walk away.” He handed it to me. “Or you can be adventurous and make a lot more.”

  “You mean have sex with you for cash?”

  “No.” He shook his head.

  “Then what?”

  “You’ll have to trust me and wait and see.”

  “I don’t know that I trust you.”

  “Understandable.” He nodded, his arm still outstretched and the cash a mere inch from my fingers.

&
nbsp; “How many times have you done this?” I asked him quietly, wondering why I was still standing there like some sort of fool.

  “Once.” He nodded. “I’ve only done this once before.”

  “You’ve only had one fake bachelor party before?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’ve had many fake bachelor parties. I’ve only met one other woman at a party who I’ve wanted to come to an arrangement with.”

  “And what happened?”

  “That’s not important.” He shook his head. “So what do you say?”

  “You can’t buy me.” I licked my lips. “Plus I don’t even know what I’m agreeing to.”

  “You have to be patient.”

  “I don’t even know your name.”

  “Grant.”

  “Like President Grant?”

  “Like Grant Slate.” He stepped back. “My name is Grant Slate. I’m just a man wants to get to know you better.”

  “Most men who want to get to know me better ask me if they can buy me a drink.”

  “Can I buy you a drink?”

  “They don’t offer me five grand a drink.”

  “I’ll offer you fifty thousand dollars to spend one week with me.” He paused. “And the drink of your choice.”

  “And you’re not expecting sex for fifty grand.”

  “If we sleep together, it won’t be because of money.”

  “I’m crazy to even be here right now.” I shook my head and looked down at the ground. “This is just crazy. I don’t even know you. You could be a serial killer.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Like you would say if you were.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I should go.”

  “I’m not stopping you.” He took a step towards me and stared at my lips. “You have beautiful eyes, even with the mousy glasses on.”

  “My glasses aren’t mousy.” I swallowed as he stepped towards me again.

  “No, they themselves aren’t mousy. I should say you have beautiful eyes, even when you wear glasses that give you a mousy appearance.” He removed my glasses again and leaned down. “Very beautiful and vibrant. When you’re angry, they almost seem to be spitting darts of green fire at me.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t get so close. You don’t want to get burned,” I whispered as his lips came closer to mine.

  “I don’t burn.” His blue eyes glittered as his lips met mine again. This time, he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into him as his lips started a war on mine. I felt his tongue slip inside my mouth and I capitulated easily, sucking on his tongue and enjoying the warm sensuality passing from him to me. It felt easy to surrender when it was with a man like Grant. Even his name was sexy. Grant Slate. Shit, I knew I was in trouble. I’d always been the smart girl. I’d never had casual flings or just fallen head over heels for anyone, yet something about Grant infiltrated my senses and my brain. When he finally pulled away from me, my body felt like putty and my brain was fuzzy. I held onto his arms to steady myself.

  “You can’t just kiss me,” I gasped finally, coming back to my senses.

  “You didn’t seem too concerned just now.”

  “That’s because you, you just, you just...” I sputtered out, not even sure what to say. “I think I need to leave.”

  “Do you want to leave?” He ran his fingers through my hair. “Do you really want to leave? Or is a little voice inside telling you that you should leave?”

  “Yeah, my common sense is telling me to get the hell out of Dodge.”

  “Out of Dodge?”

  “It’s slang.”

  “I know the saying.”

  “So why ask me what it means?”

  “I wasn’t asking you what it means.”

  “You’re difficult.”

  “I’m difficult?” He smiled at me. “You’re difficult.”

  “I should go.”

  “With or without me?”

  “I don’t even know what you want with me, so I’m going to have to say without.” I shrugged, and I could see the disappointment in my body reflected in his face. What did he care? He was handsome and obviously rich. He could have any girl he wanted.

  “That’s a shame.”

  “Why is it a shame?”

  “I think we could have a lot of fun.”

  “I don’t know what fun you’re talking about, Grant Slate.”

  “Then why don’t you let me show you, Evie Peaches?”

  “My name isn’t Evie Peaches.”

  “Would you prefer me to call you Peaches and Cream?”

  “Ug, no. That guy was gross.”

  “Unlike me, right?”

  “You’re not gross,” I said honestly, and sighed. In any other circumstance, I’d have been quite pleased to have met him. I’d be excited someone so good looking was into me, but this wasn’t a normal meeting or situation. No guy had ever offered me fifty grand for anything. Shit, no guy had even offered me a twenty. I’d been on dates where the guy had expected me to pay.

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “So I guess this is when I should get a cab.” I bit my lower lip.

  “Unless you just come home with me.”

  “I’m not a prostitute.” I shook my head.

  “I already told you—”

  “I know, I know. You don’t expect sex.” I nodded. “It just feels off.”

  “What feels off?”

  “What are you expecting for fifty grand?” I shrugged. “I mean, it could be everything but sex. It could even mean anal.” I shuddered.

  “I think anal is considered sex.” He laughed. “Unless you disagree with that.”

  “I’ve never had it.” I made a face.

  “You don’t know what you’re missing.” He grinned.

  “A whole bunch of pain is all I’m missing.”

  “Come back to my place tonight, finish the dance, and tomorrow morning I’ll tell you what I want for the fifty grand.”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head, though a little voice in my head was screaming at me, ‘What do you have to lose, Evie? What’s a dance? Isn’t this the excitement you’ve always been craving?’

  “Just for one night.” He smiled. “You can leave in the morning. I can call Tyler and he’ll pick us up. You can trust me. And you can trust Tyler. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I don’t know you or Tyler from Adam.”

  “Tyler is my driver, and he’s an ex cop.”

  “So?” I shook my head. “That means nothing to me. Tyler could be the ex-head of the CIA for all I know.”

  “He was never in the CIA.” He shook his head.

  “Why do you care so much if I come?”

  “I just want to get to spend the night with you. I don’t care what we do. We can do as much as you want or as little as you want.”

  “What will you be wearing when I dance?” I bit my lower lip. “I’m not doing a naked lap dance.”

  “We can wear what we’re wearing now, if makes you more comfortable.”

  “I just don’t understand why you want me to come.”

  “I don’t understand many things. Doesn’t mean I don’t do them.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath. “You can call Tyler. I’ll come over. One dance. And we can watch a movie or something. And then I leave.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” He pulled out his phone. “You won’t regret it.”

  “Why did I do this?” I muttered to myself as I stood in the bathroom of Grant’s bedroom. “Why did I agree to come with him?” I sighed as I pulled out my phone again. There was absolutely no signal in his house. I didn’t even really know where we were. Tyler had appeared ten seconds after Grant had pulled out his phone, and I’d been ushered into the back of the limo before I even knew what was happening.

  “You okay?” I heard a knocking on the door, and I froze.

  “Yeah, coming,” I called back, flushing the empty toilet. What had I been th
inking?

  “Hey.” Grant nodded at me from the edge of the bed where he sat.

  “Hey.” I nodded at him and fiddled with my glasses.

  “You can take your glasses off.” He nodded at me as I walked towards him.

  “I won’t be able to see if I take them off.” I shook my head.

  “That seemed to help loosen you up in the club.”

  “I don’t need to loosen up.”

  “Okay.” He shrugged and lay back on the bed. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

  “Ready for what?” I stood still as I looked around the room. It was less masculine than I thought it would be, with the white bed sheets and cream walls. All the decorations seemed softer than I’d imagined someone like Grant Slate being into. His house was also huge. When we’d driven up the driveway, I’d been shocked at how big it was. When Tyler had opened the door for us and then disappeared, I’d been scared. Now, I was unsure and just a little excited. Fear was an aphrodisiac I’d never known existed.

  “My dance.” I watched as he loosened his tie.

  “On the bed?”

  “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “It’s hard to dance on the bed.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

  “You have a nice house.”

  “You didn’t come to talk about the house.”

  “What do you want me to do for fifty grand?” I spat out and shivered as I walked towards the bed. Grant was lying there with the top two buttons of his shirt undone and a glossy look in his eyes.

  “You can do whatever you want.”

  “Whatever I want?” I stopped. “What if I don’t want to do anything?”

  “Then you don’t have to.” He sat up slightly and waved me forward. “Is that what you want?”

  “I don’t know.” I sighed, embarrassed to be slightly turned on by him. I didn’t even know him. He was a stranger, yet my body craved his touch.

  “Too many people worry about what a society they don’t know will think of them before they do anything. Why are you arguing with your body? Why are you distrusting your base instincts?”

  “You don’t know what my body is thinking.”

  “I knew the moment you sat on my lap. I knew the second you agreed to come to my home.” He stepped off the bed and walked towards me, his fingers deftly undoing the rest of the buttons on his shirt. “I knew the moment you popped out of the cake.”