by Kendall Ryan
I’d made my decision the second I left his offices in the glittery tower. I might have been intrigued, but that was as far as it went. I told Cooper I’d consider their offer, and for just a moment, I had.
But even my determination not to get involved with these men didn’t stop me from opening the box. It was as though my fingers moved of their own volition, pulling open the lacquered lid carefully until I saw what was inside.
Holding my breath, I pushed aside the mounds of crisp tissue paper, then lifted the gown from its resting place inside, admiring the feel of it in my hands. The glittery gold fabric was surprisingly heavy with fine boning and delicate glass beads painstakingly sewn into the sheath bodice.
I let out an indignant snort. I’d be returning this ridiculous gown.
Right after I tried it on . . . just once.
And who could blame me? I’d never worn a gown this exquisite in my life. I’d never had a reason to.
The ring of my cell phone in the other room captured my attention, and I marched out to retrieve it. The only people who called me were my mom and Bethany. The number on the screen was one I didn’t recognize.
“Hello?”
“Miss Bell,” a deep, slightly familiar voice said.
“Who is this?”
“Cooper Kingsley. Did you receive the dress?”
“Oh yes, I did, but—”
“You didn’t like it?”
“It’s not that, it’s just . . .”
“It didn’t fit?”
His tone remained smooth and steady while I grew increasingly flustered. I took a moment to compose myself, drawing a deep breath into my lungs.
“I’ve put some more thought into your proposal.”
“I see. Well, I don’t think it would be fair to discuss this without Gavin. Why don’t you come into the office tomorrow and give us your answer? Good evening, Miss Bell.” And with that, he clicked off.
I was left staring down at my phone, my heart thrumming steadily. Apparently, giving him a piece of my mind would have to wait until tomorrow.
Chapter Six
Gavin
“Another invitation,” Alyssa said, handing me a stack of mail. A thick black envelope was perched on top, its crisp edge having already been sliced open by her letter opener.
“That one’s for A Way Out?”
She nodded.
Slowly, I slipped the invitation from its black casing and ran my fingers over the raised silver lettering. I attended the gala each year, and the invitation always looked the same, complete with the feminine silhouette along the edge of the paper.
I fingered the RSVP slip and sighed at the little blank space meant for me to enter how many people would be in my party.
“They’ll be expecting me,” I said. It was more to myself than Alyssa, but from the corner of my eye, I saw her nod.
And, of course she did. Because she knew, like I did, that it wasn’t just a regular charity event, not just some chance to show off our girls and pique the interest of our fellow wealthy CEOs.
For me, A Way Out was personal in a way that had nothing to do with the job. Some people considered our company a short hop to prostitution, but that was far from true. We certainly didn’t condone it, especially not in the way that so many people viewed it—preying on young naive girls, getting them hooked on drugs and the like. Our girls were smart, driven, and knew exactly what they were doing. More importantly, though, none of them were expected to sleep with the client, and that wasn’t PR. That was a fact.
And when it came to human trafficking? We actively fought against it, just like this charity did. They embraced our patronage with open arms because they knew that our business was merely a glorified dating service—we hooked up CEOs, celebrities, and politicians with dates for high-profile functions.
I wasn’t naive enough to believe these liaisons never ended in sex. Of course they did, but the girls set a steep price outside of our regular fee and that money was theirs—we’d never take a cut. We were a registered business, paid our taxes, and donated time and money to a variety of good causes.
It was all very much on the up-and-up.
Those were the things I had to remind myself of late at night. When sleep wouldn’t come, and I lay there thinking of the times when things weren’t within my control. Back when it wasn’t always in my power to fix everything. Back when things had gone so horribly wrong. And in the darkness of my bedroom, a twinge of guilt, a sense that I needed to do more to end the nastiness that existed out there, would hang over me like a swarm of bees.
It didn’t trouble Quinn or Cooper. Prostitution was the oldest profession in history, and they thought we could make it safer for the girls if they chose to do it, but we couldn’t stop it. No matter how much we wanted to. They didn’t blame me for what had happened, but that didn’t absolve me of anything. I knew who’d been at fault.
“Will you be needing a date, sir?” Alyssa was still standing in front of my desk, no doubt waiting for me to dismiss her.
Sliding the invitation from its resting place, I glanced down and shook my head. “I’ve got it covered. Thanks, Alyssa. You may go.”
I watched her exit the room, thinking of last year’s event. She’d gone with me, as I’d felt it was important to showcase the female staff of the business, and had been by my side during the cocktail hour and auction.
With her encouragement, I’d bid on and won a weeklong vacation on a private island off the coast of South America, or was it Australia? I couldn’t remember. I still didn’t know what I was going to do with the damn thing. Quinn had been pressuring me to go for a while now, to get away from it all, but there was no way I could walk away from the job for more than a day or two at a time. There was too much to do, always too much, and this wasn’t a nine-to-five business. I was in the office six or seven days a week. And without me being here? I had no way of knowing everything was in control.
Fifteen minutes later, I’d answered a few emails and read over Cooper’s latest proposal, finishing just in time for my intercom to buzz.
Alyssa’s cool tones floated over the speaker. “Sir, Miss Bell is here to see you.”
I tapped my fingers restlessly on my desktop as I let that sink in. So, she had come back for more. Probably to tell us to go to hell, but still . . .
Despite the increase in my pulse rate, I kept my reply short and easy. “Send her in.”
Alyssa hesitated, the intercom system blinking at me. “Shall I notify Cooper as well?”
I glanced at the place where Emma had sat across from me yesterday, so prim and proper. Waiting for my instruction.
I should call him in. I could use the buffer. Instead, I said, “No. I’ll handle it myself.”
The intercom flickered off and, in the space of an instant, my heavy mahogany door swung open and Emma walked into the room, her pretty bow of a mouth set into a determined line.
She looked different today. It wasn’t her outward appearance—she was dressed similarly in pressed black pants, a cream silk top, ballet flats, and those little spectacles pushed high on her nose that completed the sexy-librarian vibe. The difference today was in her attitude. Her shoulders were thrust back, her chin lifted, and her eyes blazed with a soft confidence that I found . . . what was the word?
Captivating.
“Close the door behind you,” I said, my tone more brusque than I’d intended.
Emma glanced at me as if on the brink of arguing but then obeyed, letting the door fall closed before approaching my desk.
“Thank you for coming in. Please, have a seat.” I gestured to the chair behind her.
“I’d rather stand. I won’t be here long.” A delicate hand came to rest on her hip, and I couldn’t help but smirk.
Was this her attempt at intimidation? If it was, I couldn’t help but wonder where she’d learned it. Or if it had ever, even once, been effective. Because from where I was sitting, it just mad
“All right. Tell me what’s on your mind.” I clasped my hands in front of me on the heavy stainless-steel-and-glass desktop.
She glanced at my hands, and then her gaze met mine. The confidence, however faint, flickered for a moment, but then her nostrils flared. “I’ve given it more thought, and I’m sorry but I’m not interested in this . . . arrangement with you and your brother.”
Perfect. It was for the best across the board, really.
But that wasn’t what I said. I looked down and adjusted the dial on my wristwatch, taking a moment to pause before I replied. “I don’t believe you.”
For a guy who needed to be in control all the time, I seemed to have no control over my actions around her. I should take this out she’d given me. Step back before I got in too deep.
Her petulant mouth fell open into an O before she caught herself and pressed her full lips together. Drawing a steadying breath, she started again. “I’ve made up my mind, Mr. Kingsley, and I find your tone rude and derogatory. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now.”
Honestly, I could have laughed. I knew something she didn’t. I knew this interaction ended with her unequivocal acceptance.
I waited until she turned, only because I wanted another glimpse of her sexy ass. It was a fine, ripe thing ready for my hands and my mouth. But that would have to wait. Just like last time, all rational thought had fled under the heat of the chemistry that sparked between us like a Fourth of July fireworks display, and suddenly, letting her walk out of here again seemed like a crime.
Which meant it was time to play dirty.
“Miss Bell, we’ve already RSVP’d for your first event. It’s a five-thousand-dollar-per-plate charity dinner benefitting international women’s literary programs.”
“I don’t know why you went and did that. I didn’t agree to this arrangement, precisely. I said I would th—”
“You realize, of course, that your library is running a night class that needs funding, is it not?” I raised my eyebrows.
Slowly, she turned, sweeping the tip of her pretty pink tongue over her bottom lip. “I never mentioned my job.”
“But you did sign the waiver for the background check.” I shrugged. “Complete with a record of your employment history. Come now, Emma. You probably do need the money, after all.”
She paused, halting where she stood. “Money isn’t worth sacrificing my dignity for.”
“Maybe not.” Reaching into the desk drawer, I produced the crisp check that I’d already written out that would go to the cause regardless. Then I set it on my desk. “But I’ll provide a ten-thousand-dollar donation to that poor little underfunded library you work at. Is your dignity still worth more than that?”
She wandered a step closer. “All of this just to go to a dinner with you?”
We both knew this was so much more than dinner. Cooper and I were letting her into our world. Not just as a hired escort at Forbidden Desires, but as the personal mistress to us both. I didn’t like showing my hand, didn’t want her knowing just how badly I suddenly needed her to say yes, but desperate times and all that shit.
“Of course, that wouldn’t be all,” I added hastily, then pulled up a form on my computer. “It looks like you filled out the direct-deposit form, so you will be all set up to receive your compensation as well.”
“Which is?” She raised her eyebrows, her tone light but curious all the same.
“Just like all the other girls. A thousand dollars a night.”
“No way. That’s absurd.”
That steely gaze of hers was back, but her mouth was pinched into a little frown, considering. I hadn’t lost her completely, no matter how much she wanted to pretend otherwise.
“We’re paying for your time. Surely your time, and dignity, are worth something, Miss Bell? No money will exchange hands, if that makes you uncomfortable. It’ll be deposited into your account. Non-negotiable.”
“I . . .”
“Isn’t there anything you could use that money for? A new car, maybe? A nicer house?”
Something in her expression told me I’d hit a nerve. In an instant, her chin lifted.
“Fine,” she said, the fire returning to her eyes. “I’ll go.”
“The ten-thousand dollar donation to the library will be anonymous.”
Her mouth knotted into a tiny circle. She crossed her arms over her chest, apparently trying to rally what little spirit she had left. “For the record, I’m not having sex with either one of you.”
“Fine by me,” I said. “For the record? I didn’t ask you to. And further, it’s not my business what you do with Cooper, but no, I don’t plan on taking you to bed.”
Her blue eyes flared on mine, and I couldn’t tell if she was irritated or maybe intrigued by that comment. Didn’t matter. I’d known from her glances at the coffee shop. She wanted me. And she would have me. I’d soak up that sensuality, take what I wanted, and when it was over, I’d be totally fine. Because I was strong enough to resist her. I couldn’t get tangled up with another agency girl again. I knew my limits.
What happened last time had nearly destroyed me, my brothers, and this company. And that searing pain inside my chest whenever I thought of her was another reason not to drag the sweet, innocent librarian through a dark, dangerous adventure.
Not when it could cost us both everything.
But, surely, I was strong enough for a little fun. A flirtation. Something to quench my thirst for this woman.
Besides, there was no question I was a selfish bastard. If I didn’t play along with Coop’s silly little game, he would make a full-court press for this girl, and the thought of her in his arms and not mine? Made me want to put my fist through a wall.
“I suspect you have work to be done. Good-bye, Mr. Kingsley.”
She spun on her heel again, but I caught her just as she was about to sweep through the door.
“Call me Gavin.” My tone was biting, and I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. I’d won today’s argument, so why was I still so worked up? Gazing into her crystal-blue eyes, I worked to soften my tone. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes I need to prepare for, but thank you for coming in. Enjoy your evening with Cooper.”
She nodded, her eyelashes fluttering softly against her cheeks. And then she turned, flashing that curvy ass at me as she strode from my office. Goddamn tease.
My fingers returned to the keyboard and I continued typing out my reply, but my brain? It was still on a certain sassy young librarian who pushed every one of my buttons.
She was all wrong for me. Innocent where I was hardened, and sweet where I was rough. She’d want a tender lover, someone who was gentle and took his time warming her up, not some asshole who’d shove all nine inches in just to watch her gasp and struggle for breath. My cock flexed behind my zipper at the thought.
Cooper was the much better choice for her. So, why had I let him talk me into this arrangement?
It wasn’t because I was a fucking moron who thought with his cock. That was Quinn, not me. I exercised control in all things.
It was because I saw the challenge in Cooper’s eyes. Knew he thought she was too much like Ashley. Maybe she was—Christ, they could have passed for cousins. Maybe even sisters. And the need to prove him wrong, to show him that I could keep my head on straight, was too strong. Almost as strong as the desire to see Emma naked, spread-eagle on my bed.
I don’t plan on taking you to bed.
I could have barked out a laugh if I wasn’t so pissed off. What an utter lie. Of course I’d take her to bed. And as for what she did with Cooper? Why should I care? That was their business.
Punching the intercom button with more force than necessary, I waited until Alyssa’s voice came through the speaker.
“You need something?”
“Bring me some seltzer water,” I growled.
Damn knot in my stomach came out of nowhere.
Chapter Seven
Emma
Pink or red?
I stared down at the tubes of liquid lip stain I’d picked up at the department store on my lunch break. A classic bold red and a flattering girly pink. I usually opted for a swipe of nude lip balm, preferring the natural look, but the elegant gown I’d be wearing tonight called for something a little different.
Red, it is.
It turned out applying red lipstick precisely was a more difficult task than I’d been prepared for. Ten minutes later, I had blotted and reapplied until I was satisfied, leaving myself just enough time to step into my nicest pair of heels as my cell phone chimed with a text.
Cooper was here.
I forced a smile at my reflection, fighting the urge to curl up in my bed and pretend I wasn’t home. Tonight was good for the library, and I couldn’t back out now. And then, tomorrow? A thousand dollars would go a long way toward restoring this old brownstone to the way it had been when I was younger.
With a few dates, I might be able to put in an old butcher-block table and countertops like my grandmother had once had. I could plant a blueberry bush in the back. I might even be able to find an old rocker like the one she’d kept near the bay window. And a tub . . . a humongous soaking tub.
I just had to think of those things whenever times got tough. On the bright side, at least this date was with Cooper and not Gavin.
My stomach flipped at the thought of it, and our last encounter. Why did Gavin throw me off my game so completely? He was just a man. Not some demi-god toying with the rest of us sad little mortals, which for some reason it always felt like. And I was pretty sure he knew it.
Which meant next time, I had to do better. Because, screw him.
For tonight, though, it was only Cooper and me, and everything was going to be fine. I just had to think of it as a normal date.
Still, the second things got weird or I felt disrespected, I was out of there. I wanted to keep this place, but there were some lines I wouldn’t cross no matter what.
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