by Leigh James
I wasn’t good at apologies—I had no experience making them. But I did want to make this morning up to her, so I was doing it the only way I knew how. I was going to give her what she liked: baseball and food.
“You want something to eat?” I asked.
She looked at me suspiciously. She probably thought I meant my cock. “What’s on the menu?”
I grabbed my tablet and pulled up the menu from the Stratum’s restaurant. “Burgers, Caesar salads, steak tips…”
“I’ll have a burger,” she said and shrugged, trying to sound casual. “And a Caesar salad. And a beer.” She looked at me quickly. “If you’re having one.”
I picked up my cell phone and ordered two burgers, two Caesar salads, and extra onion rings. “They’re good,” I mouthed to Audrey while I was on the phone.
“What about the beer?”
“I have some.”
She got up in that outfit and went out the kitchen. I got to see her glorious ass, round and muscular, in a thong. She made her way out the door slowly, making sure I got a good, long look. Holy shit. My dick got instantly hard. One minute later, she clicked back in, carrying two IPAs. She placed one gently on my nightstand, leaning down so her tits were practically in my face. She looked over and saw the obvious bulge in my pants. Then she stood up and smiled, as if she’d won something. She strutted back to her side of the bed and showed me that ass one more time. Then she sat down, drinking her beer and ignoring me until my erection gave up and finally withered, dejected and alone.
The door buzzed, and Audrey looked down at herself. “I think you better get it,” she said. She eyed my pants. “You okay to do that?”
“I’m fine,” I said, grinning. “I’ve just seen your ass in a thong. I’m gonna die a happy man.”
* * *
We started to eat on my bed. I got up and threw Audrey one of my old Wharton T-shirts.
“What’s that for?” she asked.
“You need to be comfortable while you eat. I hate to ruin the view, though.” She went into the bathroom for a second and came back out wearing the T-shirt and only the T-shirt, which made my cock stir again.
I knew what was under that shirt and I wanted it, bad.
She padded out barefoot to the kitchen and came back with two more beers. It was almost as if this morning had never happened, that I’d never fired her and she’d never left. We ate in silence, watching the game, sharing the onion rings.
I picked up the dishes when we’d finished. Audrey looked up at me, the bravado gone from her face just like the lingerie was gone from her body. “Thank you,” she said, and it was a loaded thanks, not just for clearing the dishes.
“I should be saying that to you. You were brave to come back here.”
I went out to the kitchen and threw everything in the sink. She was brave, and I was a coward. When she’d put her hand on me last night at the restaurant, I’d lost my mind. I’d lost all control. Her touch had scorched me, and without thinking, I’d let my instincts take over. My instincts wanted to fuck her, hard.
But that’s not all they wanted, and that was the larger part of the problem.
I went back to my room and sat down next to her, closer this time. I stroked her arm lightly and I felt her stiffen, as if she was bracing for the worst. I couldn’t blame her, not after the way I’d betrayed her this morning.
“Do you remember everything that we did last night?” I asked her, my fingers trailing up her arm.
She bit her lip and looked at me. I could see the traces of puffiness around her eyes still, the vulnerability in her face. “I wish I could forget it,” she said.
I continued to stroke her arm. “I have…issues, Audrey. I sort of told you about them. I have a hard time getting close to people.”
She was watching my face.
“Last night was pretty intense,” I said. “I didn’t know how to handle it in the morning. I was confused and feeling…” My voice trailed off as I struggled to articulate my thoughts.
“Feeling what?”
“Just feeling.” I watched my finger move up and down her arm. I didn’t look her in the face. “It made me uncomfortable. That’s why I fired you.”
“So why’d you hire me back? And also say you wanted sex, if it was the sex that caused the problem?”
One of the things I liked about her was that she was direct. But that could also be a challenge—especially when you were trying to obfuscate the truth from yourself. I sighed and rolled onto my back. “We don’t have to have sex if you don’t want to, Audrey.”
“I didn’t say that.” Her voice was defensive, but it also sounded hurt.
“I hired you back because you’re a nice girl, and we had a deal. I told Elena that I wanted sex to be included in our arrangement now because I enjoyed last night. If you came back, I wanted that to be out in the open. Part of our agreement.” I paused for a second. “Services requested and services rendered.”
It didn’t feel good coming out of my mouth, but I made myself say it anyway. Going forward, sex was going to be part of our contract. Last night had just been us, and it had been dangerous. I’d come so many times I’d barely been able to see straight, and the depth of my orgasms had shocked me. I knew Audrey had orgasmed, again and again, because I’d felt her body clench around mine.
I’d also heard her screaming my name.
“I’m fine with sex being part of the arrangement. I like things to be straightforward. It makes them easier to deal with,” she said.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” I said, relieved that we seemed to be on the same page. “So… will that be okay? You’re back, and we have the same arrangement as before. Except now sex is part of the deal.”
“Works for me,” Audrey said, business-like.
I smiled at her. “Let’s just enjoy each other. We have a whole week left.”
“Deal,” Audrey said. She sounded relieved, too.
She leaned back on the pillow and went back to watching the game. I lay beside her, stroking her arm again. She was so beautiful, even with no makeup and my old shirt on. Especially with no makeup and my old shirt on. After a while she turned to me, running her fingers along my face. I leaned over and kissed her then, tasting her sweet mouth, crushing my lips against hers.
I was going to have to fuck her. The need rose up in me, large and insatiable. There was no going back after last night. But I could relax this time. It was safer—she was mine for now. We had an agreement with parameters, a mutually beneficial one.
I eased my hand under her T-shirt and stroked her flat belly, my hand rising up to her luscious breasts. She sat up and took the shirt off, and I laid against her hot skin, playing with her nipples, alternately sucking and blowing on them. She arched her back, her nipples hardening and elongating beneath my touch. Then I slid my hand down and swirled my fingers against her clitoris, pinching and rolling it between my fingers until she was moaning and slick with wetness.
By that time, my cock was enormous and heavy against her. I was about to burst.
She turned to look at me, and for a moment, her eyes looked sad. I was going to fuck that sadness out of her, make her forget it—especially if I was the one who’d caused it. She pulled down my pants, and I eased out of my shirt. Then I swung my knee over her and put my cock against her slit. I rubbed myself against her slowly, lazily getting myself lubricated. She grabbed me and rubbed me against her, getting my hard length slick.
“Tell me you want me,” I said, my voice thick.
“I want you. I fucking want you, James,” she said.
I couldn’t wait any more. I entered her swiftly and without preamble. She was more than ready for me, slick with wetness. I slid all the way in, to the base of my shaft, and we both moaned as her body opened up to accommodate me. I fit tightly within her. “Fuck, oh fuck Audrey—that’s good.”
I drove long, hard thrusts into her. It felt so good. She dug her nails into my ass, driving me in even further. I could fee
l her clench, trying to squeeze everything out of me. Being inside her again was making me crazy. It was as if her sweet, tight body was made for mine.
I wrapped my arms around her and covered her body with mine, claiming her with each thrust. I wanted to own her and possess her.
“Tell me you want me. And only me,” I said, out of my mind.
I could tell she was close. Her body clenched around me, shaking. “I only want you. I only ever want you.” The way she said it, I believed her. That made me feverish, and I continued to drive into her ruthlessly, taking us both right to the edge. “James,” she cried. “James—”
My name on her lips was all I needed to hear. I felt so out of control. I came in her, hard, my hips still thrusting as she cried out and shook beneath me. I pumped into her over and over, until my orgasm had subsided and I was spent.
She’d come back.
She’d come back because I was paying her.
But still, she’d come back.
I crushed her to me, willing myself to stop thinking, not ever wanting to let her go.
Audrey
We stayed in bed for the rest of the day. The Red Sox managed to win. I now knew where I stood with James. Even though I’d felt as if he’d broken my heart this morning, his clumsy explanation about his feelings put it back together again. And then subsequently melted it.
He was a John, but he was the best John ever. He’d fucked me like I’d never been fucked before, and I was going to make enough money to keep Tommy in New Horizons for the near future and then some. I had the next nine days to look forward to with James, nine days of luxury and pleasure.
In theory, I should be sitting back and relaxing, counting all my money and all my orgasms. In practice, I felt as if my heart was about to break all over again. And this time, all James’s money and all James’s sexual dexterity wouldn’t be able to put it back together again.
I was in love with him. The realization spread over me with sick dread as I was getting dressed for the evening and James was taking a shower. He was an assignment that was only going to last one more week, and I was in love with him. I looked at myself in the mirror and laughed. I sure know how to pick ’em, I thought. It just figured. I finally fell in love and it was never going to happen. That was typical Audrey Reynolds luck.
Not only that, but I was finally going to have enough money to make things okay, all the things I’d been wishing for. And now I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy it. Because I was in love with James Preston, and he was going to leave my world next week, and my life was going to be ruined forever.
Way to go, Audrey.
My phone beeped, and I got up to look at it. It was a text from my mom. Shit. It was never good when my mom came looking for me. She either wanted money, or she was in trouble, or she wanted money because she was in trouble. But I wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with Tommy, so I called her back.
“Audrey,” she said immediately.
“Everything okay?” I asked, not bothering to say hello either.
“No, it is not,” she said. “I got into a car accident earlier, and the Sentra’s totaled.”
“Was everyone all right?” I asked. I meant, were you high, and did you kill anybody?
“I’m fine,” she said. “I just ran off the road and hit some construction stuff that the stupid city workers left there. Can you imagine that? Just leaving concrete tubes and jackhammers and shit everywhere? It totaled my car!”
“It was on the side of the road, Ma. Not in the road.” I sighed. My mother always had a problem, and someone else had always caused it. I don’t think I’d ever heard her say she was responsible for one thing that had gone wrong in her life, not ever.
“So where’s the car?” I asked.
“I left it there.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at a bar,” she said. Of course she was. I knew my mother. She was going to have a few drinks and tell the cops she’d been at a bar, drinking—after she’d totaled her car. They’d never be able to prove that she’d been drinking before, too, although they would expect as much. The cops knew my mom, and my mom knew the cops.
“Did you call anybody?” I asked.
“No. That wouldn’t have been a great idea,” she said. That was as close as she would come to admitting she’d been drunk earlier. “So I’m just in here for an hour. I’m gonna have a couple of drinks and then I’ll call them.”
“They might find you before that, Ma.”
“Whatever,” she said. She was muffled for a bit, and I heard her lighting a cigarette. “Hey, I talked to the clerk at Tommy’s center. She said you’d paid ahead through August. Business must be pretty good, huh?”
“It was a one-off. There’s no more money,” I said, bristling. I was disgusted that my mother was happy I was making money as a prostitute. I was even more disgusted by her tone—the one that told me she was going to be asking me for some of that money soon. “I gotta run. Be safe.”
“Have fun,” she said, and it made my skin crawl.
James came in then, a towel wrapped around his waist. “Who was that?”
“No one,” I said, and I meant it.
* * *
James had on another dazzling suit, this time with a lavender tie. “What should I wear?” I asked, going through the racks of designer clothes in my closet. I wasn’t used to this many choices.
“That dress you had on last night worked for me,” he said, grinning.
“I’m pretty sure that’s dirty,” I said and smiled back at him. “Plus, I don’t want to wear anything that’s going to have us going at it under the table again. I don’t think your mother would approve.” I pulled out a conservative grey sheath and showed it to him. “What about this?”
“It’s fine,” he said. “But we’ll still probably go at it. It doesn’t matter what you wear. I know what you look like underneath—and I like it.” I went to him and kissed him on the lips, dropping the dress onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back, hard, and that wasn’t the only thing that was hard.
I ran my hands over him, relishing the feel of his enormous, sculpted chest, but then I stepped back. “Too bad we don’t have time for that right now,” I said innocently. “You have to be photographed for your New England Brides Magazine spread.”
He sighed raggedly. “This fucking wedding.”
I started to put the grey dress on. “I don’t know—I’m enjoying it so far,” I said, and I meant it.
He came and zipped up the back for me. “I am, too. And that was the last thing I expected.” He ran his hand gently down my back, sending shivers through me.
His phone buzzed, and he grabbed it, reading the screen intently. “I have to deal with this. Sorry,” he said, and started quickly tapping out messages on his phone. “But we have to get going, too.”
I put on some metallic sandals, lipstick, and a bunch of bangles. Then I grabbed his hand, leading him to the elevator and out to the car while he dealt with his business. It was beautiful outside, and Kai was waiting with a friendly smile. James was holding my hand while he barked into his phone. It all seemed so normal, so natural. For one moment, I imagined that this was my real life, and I was his real girlfriend.
It was perfect. It was absofuckinglutely perfect.
He was on his call during the drive to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where the photo shoot was taking place. I took the time to look at my phone, worried that my mother had managed to end up in jail.
To my surprise, I had three voicemails. The first was from my mother. “Audrey, they towed the car, and I can’t afford to get it. Call me. Please.”
The second was from Elena. “Dre, call me as soon as you get this. On my cell.”
I looked over at James, and he was still on his phone, listening intently to something. Blowing out a shaky breath, I called her back immediately. “Dre,” she said after it had barely started to ring.
“Hi, Elena,” I said
nervously. She rarely, if ever, called us while we were on a job. “What’s up?”
“Your mother is what’s up,” she said. “She came by the office this afternoon. She said she knew you’d made big money recently and that she needed some of it.”
All the blood drained from my face. “Elena, I’m so sorry,” I said.
“It gets better. I told her that she was not welcome in our office. She smelled, Dre. She was butt-ass drunk in broad daylight, and she was belligerent. I proceeded to tell her that you were making your regular salary and that I didn’t know anything else, and then I asked her to leave.”
“What happened then?” I asked.
“She went into the bathroom and stole a bunch of those mini hand soaps,” Elena said, sighing. “Then she left. But I have a bad feeling she’ll be back again tomorrow. Dre, I can’t have this sort of drama associated with my business. I run a luxury company. I can’t have your alcoholic, bag-lady-looking mother coming in and yelling at me in front of clients.”
“I know,” I said. I could feel myself turning crimson red. My mother had been ruining things for me since I was a child. I was so ashamed of her. For years, I’d felt bad because of that shame. I’d always felt as if I should be spending my time trying to help her more, not being embarrassed by her.
But now I was a grown woman, and I’d been taking care of myself for a long time. And I’d also taken care of Tommy because she couldn’t—and she never had. I’d seen her ruin everything that she touched, take advantage of everyone who came into contact with her. And now she was threatening my livelihood, the livelihood that was keeping her son healthy and safe.
I didn’t feel bad anymore that I was ashamed of her. She was worthy of my shame.
“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “She won’t be coming back.”
“I need you to take care of this and still take care of our most prestigious client. Don’t let your personal problems get in the way, Dre.”
“I won’t,” I mumbled. “I promise.”