“Fine, you win, I’ll take you to dinner, but it’s going to have to be food court fare because that’s all I can afford and I only have jeans and tee shirts with me,” I told him honestly. I wasn’t ashamed that I didn’t have a lot of money, my animals got everything I could squeeze out. After all, they were the only family I had left. I tilted my head defiantly, daring him to make fun of me.
He was about to speak when a knock sounded at the door. Acting as if he owned the place, he strolled over, opened the door and took what looked like a dress bag, small box, and a tiny red bag. He thanked the person like he knew them and turned back to me. His devious smile told me I was going to hate what was in that bag.
“I’m glad you’re willing to see reason. However, my dates don’t pay for dinner, I do. As for your lacking wardrobe I have already taken care of it, here,” he shoved the bags and box at me, I grabbed them awkwardly with one hand as I tried to clutch my towel with the other.
I was speechless, “How?” It was all I could get out as I glanced at the blue, silk dress that matched his shirt hanging in the dress bag.
“Simple. I got your sizes off the clothes I put in the laundry bag and your shoes that were in the closet. I went a size up for the heels because sometimes they run small, and I only got low heels because you seemed to have a slight limp. I wanted you to be comfortable,” Matt informed like he shopped for women’s clothing every day. Jesus, maybe he does! Maybe his clients like him to dress them!
“I-I- don’t know what to say, Matt, I can’t take this, I can’t afford this,” I stuttered again as I tried to shove the bags back to him. He put his hands up and moved away, refusing to take them, and I didn’t want to dump, what was obviously an expensive dress, onto the cold floor.
“I don’t want you to pay for the dress or dinner, I wanted to do it for you so I did. Just let me do it Sunny, please?” It was the please that undid me. The last time someone had bought me something was when my mother had gotten me a new dress for my plane ride to the University, the day before the accident. The memories coupled with Matt’s puzzling kindness made tears fill my eyes, and I felt myself start to shake.
“Why? I mean… look at me…why would you?…I mean…no one has…I don’t…” Nothing came out right, I couldn’t even form a full sentence as the tears started to spill down my cheeks.
“Because I can, Because I did, Because some should and often, now go get dressed so you can grill me on a full stomach,” He said as he used his hands to shoo me toward the bedroom.
I nodded and tried my best to not limp as I closed the door to my room and tried to remember that Matt Wolf was just an assignment, and what my primary objective was here. I would not give in to the urge to wrap my arms around the man and weep.
Matt
I collapsed, yes collapsed on the couch as soon as the door shut. I rubbed my hands up and down my face trying to get a handle on what the hell I was doing. Okay, taking a client to dinner wasn’t new. I loved treating women to special things. The cute new dress that I had Veronica, a sales woman I knew from the expensive dress shop downstairs, send up for Sunny was just another thing I did to go that extra mile for my client. However, what had possessed me to chase a half-naked woman down the hall and carry her back to her hotel suite like a caveman, that had me scratching my head.
Feeling out of sorts, I checked my watched and realized the evening had not gone at all like I had planned. I know it sounds weird, but I had been an escort long enough to have a good idea of exactly how an evening went.
Arrive promptly at six. Okay, that was my bad, I had gotten here a little early.
Spend at least an hour building rapport with the client, putting her at ease with random smiles and touches.
Take the client to dinner and make sure she felt special as I hung on every word she said, taking mental notes of any idiosyncrasies she might have that could help me later.
After a decadent dessert, I use the, ‘you have a little something there’ line then lean in and lick just the corners of her mouth and brush a feather light kiss across her lips.
Make sure to hold the client's hand and brush temple kisses along her forehead as we make our way back to the room.
Seduce client, then take a break with strawberries and cream.
Have sex two or three times, cuddle with client
Wake up early, order crepes and coffee, wake up the client with my tongue between her legs, and serve her breakfast in bed.
I’m not a totally, anal-retentive asshole, this was just my rough outline of an evening with a client that I had never been with before. After I’m with someone a few more times, I can better anticipate what kind of night they’re looking for. So far, Sunny had answered her door covered in pasta, kicked me, accused me of being a psycho killer and had bolted from her own hotel room dressed in nothing but a towel.
So okay, I was kind of a neat freak, and I liked to plan out my day, so shoot me. There was another thing that bothered me about the woman in the other room. She had been the first person to catch on to me not calling clients by their name, and she appeared to have a slight limp. I was pretty sure there was more to her hip injury then she had let on. In this profession, you learn how to read people really well, and I hadn’t missed the way her eyes glossed over when she’d mentioned her hip. The woman was a puzzle that I couldn’t seem to figure out. If she was telling the truth and was only here to interview me, then I was even in more trouble because my cock hadn’t stopped throbbing since I saw her standing there in that towel.
Not liking the out of control feeling I was having, I decided to get back on track with the evening. I walked to the wet bar and grabbed a bottle of water and took two long gulps. I was just about to put the cap back on the bottle when the bedroom door opened, and I knew, right then and there, I was absolutely, unequivocally, fucked.
Standing in the doorway of her room, in a dress that was just a shade lighter than the blue silk shirt I was wearing, was a dark haired goddess. The dipping neckline exposed the crest of her full breasts. The dress hung just above her knees, and it flared out at the bottom. I just knew it would swing with her hips when she walked. The matching blue heels she wore look molded to her feet and the sapphire earrings that I had made sure, Veronica sent, hung off her ears attracting my attention to a neck that held a suntan from either laying out or working in the sun.
“Um, if you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to go hide in the bathroom.” She quirked, and my gaze snapped up to hers. Her dark lashes had just a hint of mascara and her lips glistened with just a kiss of lipgloss. In short, the woman standing before me looked nothing like the woman who I had discovered on the floor, covered in pasta sauce just a few hours before. Without the ten pounds of makeup that many of my clients wore, Sunny looked fresh-faced with a natural blush to her cheeks.
“You look beautiful,” I told her honestly. I saw her dark eyes narrow and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why my compliment bothered her.
For a moment I thought she was going to blast me. Instead, she shrugged and reached for her purse, “Come on Cinderella, this ball ends at midnight, and when it does, all of this goes home with you,” she informed me as I opened the door to let her proceed me out into the hall.
“Do I get to take it all off you?” I teased trying to lighten the mood with a little banter.
“Why would you want to do that?” she asked as I took her elbow and led her towards the elevators. I wasn’t sure how to answer her question.
“Why would I what?” I asked, sure I had missed something in the conversation.
“Why would you want to take all this off me? Are you afraid I would damage it so you couldn’t return it?” she asked while I tried to cover my stunned expression, “I assure you, Matt, I can take off this dress without ruining it,” she huffed.
I could only stare at the apparently deranged woman, as we entered the elevator and I beat her to the Lobby button. I turned her so her back was against the wall and
I leaned one hand on the wall above her head and stared down at her.
A crazy thought suddenly hit me, “Do you not know how beautiful you are?” I watched her eyes narrow again like she was looking for any signs that I was kidding. Surely, she had to know how stunning she was. Just those wide dark eyes and full lips alone would bring any man to his knees, how could she not know?
“It’s all just smoke and mirrors Matt, the outside shell is just window dressing, you shouldn’t get too caught up in that.” She answered so softly that I almost hadn’t heard her reply.
The elevator pinged, the door opened, and my frustrated sigh was drowned out by the sounds of the busy casino. I reached for Sunny’s hand and was surprised when she ignored it and brushed past me.
“Have I done something else to offend you in the short ride down to the casino floor?” I grumbled. What was it about this woman? Generally, women hung all over me, so much so that I would have to take deep breaths not to panic from feeling smothered. Yet, it seemed this woman was already trying to put as much distance between as possible. Fuck it, not happening sweetheart, seducing women is what I do, and you are not going to be the exception.
Sunny stopped abruptly and turned to me with a questioning expression on her beautiful face. “No, you haven’t pissed me off in the last two minutes, so I’m not sure what has your briefs in a bunch,” she answered.
I reached for her hand and this time, when she pulled back, I followed her retreating limb until I caught her hand in my grip. I smoothed my fingers over her knuckles and couldn’t hide my surprise when I felt hard callouses on the underside of what was otherwise a soft hand. Apparently, I took to long to school my expression because I saw her eyes narrow as she tried to snatch her hand out of my grip. Giving her my most determined expression I tightened my hold on her and brought her resisting hand to my lips for a kiss.
I knew this was going to go one of two ways, she could make a scene and slap me across the face or she would refuse to make a scene and let me hold her damn hand! No one had to tell me what my brother’s fiance, Synclair, would’ve chosen. As much as I loved my future sister in law, I had no doubt she would whip out some miniature weapon that would probably be strapped to her thigh and beat me with it. I could only hope Sunny wouldn’t be quite as bold or violent.
“Why?” she hissed looking around as if she wanted to make sure we weren’t be watched. Ah, she doesn’t want to attract attention to herself, I can use that to my advantage!
“Why do I want to hold your hand?” I asked in shock. Had no one ever held her hand before? Jesus, where the hell was she raised?
“Yes, are you afraid I’m going to run? I’m not going to run away from you Matt, I’m going to go to dinner and do my job, you don’t have to worry!” she hissed trying to keep her voice low so that no one overheard her.
It took every bit of willpower not to let my jaw hit the floor. Instead of letting her tug her hand away, which she was still trying to do, dammit, I threaded our hands together, took my arm, looped it around her waist, lowered my head and rested my forehead on hers. It didn’t escape my notice how her breathing hitched as I stared into those dark, beautiful eyes.
“I am not afraid of you running because I would catch you,” she went to argue, and I pressed her closer to me. “I want to hold your hand because that’s what a gentleman does when he escorts a woman to dinner,” I told her not letting her tear her gaze from mine.
“Why?” Again with the why?
“Because I was raised to escort my dates to dinner.” I huffed becoming agitated at her contrary responses. Jesus, it was just her hand, you’d think I was trying to hold her boob!
“I guess I just don’t see the reason if it’s not to make sure your date doesn’t bolt. I’m assuming you realize I can navigate my way through a Casino without injury or the fear of getting lost. So, why do I need a man to hold my hand on the way to a restaurant? It just doesn’t make sense.” She told me as I began walking us toward the restaurant I frequented when I was at the Venetian. I looked at her expression and realized she was genuinely asking me the purpose of holding someone’s hand. She didn’t see the intimacy, or she wasn’t used to affection. Could she be a virgin?
I realized I had wondered the last part aloud when I felt her come to a dead stop about one step behind me. Shit.
“Not that it’s any of your business, Mr. Wolf,” Damn! She sounded pissed. “But I lost my virginity a long time ago, and while I may not have the vast amount of experience that someone like you obtains as a hooker, I still know the basics when it comes to a penis and a vagina,” she spat at me.
Looking around I answered, “I am not a hooker!”
Giving me a smirk she leaned in, “Oh, did I offend your delicate sensibilities, Mr. Wolf? Don’t worry, we’ll grab a quick bite, I’ll ask you some questions, and you can complete your evening by offering ten dollar blow jobs to potential clients,” she quipped dropping my hand and walking past the crowd of people toward the hostess. Holy crap, the chick has a temper! Note to self, Sunny goes from timid to terrifying in zero to ten seconds. I should’ve been pissed. She had just dressed me down in front of a Casino full of people and had the nerve to call me a hooker! Yet, all I could think about was how adorable she looked when her dark eyes flashed with anger, and her cheeks flushed. Groaning, I walked past the onlookers to find my date. I am so fucked!
Ali
I felt Matt walk up next to me as soon as I reached the hostess. I forced myself not react as the cute, big breasted woman bounced. Yes! Literally bounced, as she came around the podium to grab Matt in a tight hug. I even managed to keep my expression blank as Matt tried to disentangle her hands from around his neck as she shamelessly rubbed up against him.
“Uh, Hi Bridgette, I have a reservation for two,” He explained to the bouncy bimbo while sliding glances at me to gauge my reaction.
Once Bridgette had shown us to our table, while inappropriately touching Matt’s shoulder, hands, and I swear she drew her hands across his ass when he went to seat himself after making sure I was secured in the booth, Matt turned to me with an apologetic look on his face.
“I owe you an apology,” I told him before I could speak. I had lost my temper back there with him and had made several people stare at me. I knew better than to let my temper get the best of me. Sure, most people who knew me thought I was quiet, even shy. However, I knew that once my mouth got going, it took on a vicious life of its own, and the last thing I needed was to get into a war of insults when my own body could be a wealth of material for anyone wanting to take a stab at me.
When he just stared at me, I continued, “I shouldn’t have said those things to you, I’m sure you’re a magnificent hooker…I mean a well paid one…not like a blow job whore,” I face palmed myself. “I mean, it’s evident that women are very…enthusiastic around you,” I looked up, and he was still staring. Geez, and why wouldn’t he? This had to be the most awkward apology ever. “I’m sure you’re worth every penny that women spend on you,” I rushed out as I grabbed my water glass and gulped down half of it, refusing to look at the sexy man across the table.
“Sunny?” I heard him ask. I played with the soft linen napkin trying to get my heated cheeks to calm, “Sunny?” I heard him say again, and his large hand covered mine. Shit, I’m Sunny! Pay attention Alison!
“Yes?” I looked up feeling stupid that I couldn’t even remember my own fake name. Geez, I was acting like a newbie at this. I had interviewed gang members, African Tribe leaders, and even a few serial killers. Of course, the serial killers had been behind bars and a four-inch thick plate of glass, but still, I had held my own and never once got flustered. I needed to get it together, get my interview and go home!
Those green eyes sucked me into their hypnotic gaze and even though the last thing I wanted to do was stare at him, I was unable to look away.
“Sunny, I’m not ashamed of what I do, I’m glad women want me, I know I’m good at being an escort. Later I’
ll show you why women pay me the money they do,” he whispered as he ran his thumb across the back of my hand. Nope, not going there! There will be no finding out why women want to hang from this man’s penis, nope, nope, nope.
Pulling my hand from his, I picked up the menu and used it to block my view of Matt’s smirking mouth. Jesus, that mouth should be illegal!
Glancing at the menu, I slapped it back down on the table, and before I could stop myself I blurted out, “Thirty-seven dollars for a hamburger? Does it come in a 24 karat bun?” I didn’t realize how loud I was until I saw Matt visibly wince. See, this is why I don’t socialize with people. A solid case of open mouth…insert foot!
“Can I get you a glass of wine or a cocktail from the bar?” I waiter that I swear materialized out of nowhere asked.
“What? No, just water for me, just some straight up H20, Bradwick,” I answered reading the name tag on the smirking waiter. I didn’t particularly like the way he gazed down his nose at me like I was some flea that needed to be squashed.
“Actually could you bring us a bottle of your red and your white wines? We’ll decide from there Bradwick, thank you,” Matt said with a wave of his hand.
My jaw dropped in shock, and I grabbed the waiter’s arm just as he turned to go, “Just bring one glass please, my dinner companion will be drinking alone,” I gritted daring the waiter to make some snobby retort. Instead, he looked down at my hand that was still on his arm, and I quickly snatched it back and put it back in my lap. He smiled at Matt and then turned and rolled his eyes...Yes! Rolled his damn beady eyeballs at me!
No Refunds No Exchanges: A Hudson Family Series- Book 4- Matt and Ali Page 6