Fixed on You (5 page)

The door had just shut behind
Sasha when Hudson asked again. “What word would you use for me, Alayna?”

The way my name sounded in his
sensual voice brought goose bumps to my skin. “Controlled,” I said, without
hesitation.

“Interesting.” He took a bite of
his bass and I watched, hypnotized by the way his mouth curved around the fork. 
“Not that controlled isn’t an accurate description of me. But I had thought
from the look on your face that you would say something else.”

I began to ask what he had
expected me to say, but I wasn’t certain I wanted to walk through that door
he’d opened. He didn’t press it, spending the next few minutes eating in
silence.

Wanting to let him eat, I turned
my body to look at the club below me. Even with my eyes averted, I felt
Hudson’s presence hanging on me like a cloak. I wondered about the man sitting
across from me. Why had he bought The Sky Launch? What did he want from me? And
the most intriguing question, how did I feel about this domineering male who
bossed me and chastised me and made me want to climb on to his lap and rub
against him like a kitten? Yeah, he was good-looking, but did I
like
him? Or was he just another rich pompous ass that I was inexplicably drawn to?

“I know why you agreed to dine
with me, Alayna.”  

I turned back to face him and stilled,
wondering where he was possibly going. First of all, I hadn’t actually agreed
to dine with him, if that’s what this was. He’d sort of led me there. Secondly,
many of the reasons I hadn’t fought against coming with him would be
embarrassing if he voiced them. They were numerous: to find out his plans for
the club, to get a promotion, to make David jealous. To get in Hudson’s pants.

No, not to get in his pants. That
could not be on my list of reasons. Could. Not.

Hudson took a swallow of his wine,
then wiped his perfectly formed lips with his napkin. “I have to be honest with
you. I don’t intend to help you with your desire to make management.”

I fidgeted, not knowing if I
should relax or be disappointed. On the one hand, that was probably the least
humiliating reason he could have mentioned for me dining with him. On the other
hand, there went my promotion.

“That doesn’t mean you won’t be
promoted.” Did Hudson have some sort of mind-reading capability? It would
explain how he did so well in the business world. “David said you’re quite capable,
and I’m sure you’ll get the position without my help. I may own The Sky Launch,
but I am not your boss. David is your boss and will continue to be unless the
business no longer thrives under his command.”  

Well, then. I could live with
that. David had all but guaranteed me a place in management. Plan back on
track. And it likely meant that Hudson wasn’t planning on spending a lot of
time around the club. I might have sighed audibly.

Hudson leaned back against the
couch, draping his arm across the top. “But I didn’t invite you here to discuss
the club.”

Finally.
I swallowed. “Why
did you invite me?”

A hint of amusement crossed
Hudson’s face. “Perhaps I like you.”

I shuddered as a thrill traveled
up my spine. But I didn’t trust that he was merely trying to pick me up. He was
taking too long to make his play, and that would never be Hudson’s style. There
was more.

God, I hoped there was more. If
he was just trying to pick me up, what the hell was I going to say?

I took a sip of my iced tea, wishing
it were something stronger. When I lowered my glass, I said, “Perhaps I’m
seeing someone.”

“You aren’t. No man would let his
woman wear the outfit you wore yesterday. Not in public, anyway.”

The mention of the outfit I’d
nicknamed trouble and the idea that any man would
let
me do anything
ruffled my feathers. “Perhaps I’m not into controlling boyfriends.”

His mouth twitched slightly. “Very
well, Alayna.” He cocked a brow. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Of course I wasn’t seeing anyone,
damn it. I looked at my lap, my expression telling Hudson all he needed to
know. Why did this man make me so flustered? I was a confident, well-spoken
woman on a normal day. But not around him.

I sat straighter, attempting to
find some semblance of sure footing. “That isn’t why you invited me, Hudson.
You have an agenda.”

“An agenda.” Hudson made a sound
that I think must have been his version of a chuckle. “Yes, Alayna, I have an
agenda.”

And then, instead of sharing his
agenda, he changed the subject. “I presume you enjoyed your time at my spa last
week.”

Startled by absolutely everything
he was saying, I attempted to follow the topic swing. “Oh, I didn’t realize you
owned…wait...” And the light went on. “The gift was from you?”

“Yes. Did you have a nice time?”

“No. Way.” I’m pretty sure my jaw
dropped. Actually, physically, literally dropped.

“No way?”                                           

Realizing my remark hadn’t
expressed what I meant it to express, I tried again. “I mean, yes, I had a nice
time—a wonderful time, in fact—but no way could you have done that. Why did you
do that? You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why ever not?”

A whole range of reasons ran
through my head, number one being because it was creepy and psychotic. But I
had been called both of those things many times and would not throw them easily
at another person. I grabbed for the next reason. “Because that’s big!”

“Not for me.”

“But for me it is.” How could he
not understand? The vastness of it built in me like champagne bubbles in a
newly uncorked bottle. “It’s huge! And you don’t even know me! It’s completely
inappropriate and unprofessional and unprecedented and inappropriate. And if
I’d known it was from you, I never would have accepted it.” This couldn’t be only
about getting in my pants. I could have been won over by much less, as ashamed
as I was to admit that to myself.

Hudson took a deep breath, trying
to remain patient. “It’s not inappropriate at all. It was simply a gift. Think
of it as a golden hello.”

My voice was tight as I strained
to keep myself from screaming in frustration. “But you don’t give gifts like
that to women who work for you unless you’re running an entirely different kind
of club.”

“You’re overreacting, Alayna.”

“I’m not!” Finally his previous
statement registered. “And what do you mean a golden hello? You mean, like a
signing bonus?” Several of my peers had talked about the bonuses they’d been
offered when they’d accepted their six-figure positions after grad school. Cars
and stuff like that.  

“Yes, Alayna.” He tossed his hand
in the air. “That’s my agenda. I would like to hire you.”

He couldn’t have startled me more
if he’d asked me to strip for him. Or maybe that’s what he was asking. What
exactly did he want to hire me to do? “I already work for you and I’m happy
where I am.”

“Again, I don’t feel that you do
work for me. I am not your boss. I own the establishment that you work for.
That is all. Is that clear?”

Semantics. But I understood what
he was attempting to do, separating himself from me and my job at The Sky
Launch, so I nodded.

“This wouldn’t affect your
employment at the club.” He removed his arm from the couch and sat forward. “Maybe
hire is not the correct term. I’d like to pay you to help me with a problem. I
believe you’d be perfect for the job.”

The whole conversation had my
head spinning, but he had my attention. “You win. My curiosity is piqued.
What’s the job?”

“I need you to break up an
engagement.”

I coughed, wondering if I heard
him correctly, knowing I had. “Um, what? Whose?”

Hudson leaned back, his dazzling
gray eyes flickering in the strobe lights. “Mine.”

Hudson tapped one long finger on
the table in front of him. “Close your mouth, Alayna. Although it’s quite
adorable to see you flabbergasted, it’s also very distracting.”

I closed my mouth. A million
questions circled through my mind, too quickly for any to take shape. And
somewhere behind all that, I registered that he’d called me adorable. I needed
a drink, something stronger than iced tea. Hudson scooted his Sancerre toward
me and I took it, grateful.

The wine gave me back my voice. “I
didn’t realize you were engaged.” I blushed then, remembering all the dirty
thoughts I’d had about Hudson and how I’d believed—okay,
hoped
—he had
been flirting with me. I took another swallow of wine.

Hudson glanced out the window,
maybe hoping to hide the torment that flashed across his face. “I’m not
really.” He turned back to me, his expression now reserved and emotionless as
usual. “That’s the problem. Neither Celia nor I are at all interested in the
arrangement.”

This relaxed me, for some reason.
But it did little to clear anything up. “Then why not just break up with her?”

He sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

I gave Hudson my best
dumb-it-down-for-me-dude expression. Apparently, it worked.

“Her parents have been friends
with mine for decades. They have a specific plan for their daughter’s life and
they do not accept her choice to not marry me. If she broke it off, they’d cut
her off emotionally and financially. That’s not something I wish for my friend.”

His explanation prickled me. 
Were we living in the early twentieth century with arranged marriages and shit?
God, rich people lived such strange lives. I picked my words thoughtfully,
careful to not show the extent of my irritation. “Never mind that parents
shouldn’t be controlling their grown daughter, they don’t control you. Do they?”

Hudson’s eyes blazed. “No. No one
controls me.”

His emphatic response had my body
turned on. That command and authority, it was so…
hot.
I licked my lips,
and then delighted as he zeroed in on the action. I hadn’t imagined it. He
was
reacting to me. Maybe not as forcefully as I reacted to him, but the energy
between us was real.

I crossed my legs attempting to
ease the need between them. “I’m missing something.”

He nodded. “I suppose you are.”
He retrieved the Sancerre from in front of me and finished it off in one quick
swallow. Knowing we’d shared the glass sent another tingle to my lower regions.

“Alayna, if there is anyone in
the world who has any power over me, it’s my mother. My mother knows that I am…
incapable
…of
love. She worries that I will…end up alone. A marriage with her best friend’s
daughter, at least, insures that won’t happen.” His words were measured and
even. And just like every time he spoke, he hypnotized me with his voice.

“It would make my mother very
happy to see me marry Celia. If it comes to Celia losing her entire life, then
I’ll willingly enter into a loveless marriage. However, I’d hate to rob her
future of happiness she might find with someone else.”

I shook my head, confused,
overwhelmed, dazzled. “Where would I come in?”

He raised his brows. “Ah, see, if
Celia’s parents believed I was in love with another woman—”

“They wouldn’t want her to marry
a man who was in love with someone else.”

“Exactly. And my mother would be
so thrilled that I’d found someone I was happy with, she’d stop worrying about
my future.”

The idea of betraying someone who
only wanted Hudson to be happy bothered me. But I was also extremely attracted
to the sweetness of this hard, virile man in front of me caring enough about
his mother and his friend to go to such extreme measures.

 I also saw enormous potential
for me to be made the enemy in the scenario. “So I’m supposed to be the floozy
you’re in love with.”

His lips curved at the edges. “No
one would ever mistake you as a floozy, Alayna. Even when you dress like one.”

That damn trouble outfit again. I
was burning it when I got home. Mention of it made me suddenly cold and
defensive. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back—away from Hudson
Pierce. “Why don’t you hire a real floozy to put on your charade?”

He smirked. “My mother would
never believe I’d fall for a floozy. You, however, have particular qualities—qualities
that would make the story quite believable.”

I didn’t want to play this game
anymore. My answer was no. But I couldn’t help myself from asking, “What sort
of qualities?”

His eyes darkened, and I was
caught up in them. “You are exquisitely beautiful, Alayna, and also extremely
intelligent.”

“Oh.” I dropped my hands to my
lap, stunned. It was a good thing the wine was gone. I’d have slammed it, and I
still had a shift to work.

Hudson broke the intense eye
contact. “And you’re a brunette. All three make you ‘my type’ so to say.”

The absence of his heated stare
was both chilling and releasing. I could think again, make coherent sentences.
But I also wanted it back with a fierceness I couldn’t explain.

“I sense your hesitation, Alayna,
and I understand. Perhaps this would be a good time to discuss payment.” I
admired how he could move from moments of magnitude to straight business with
such fluid ease. Me, I had whiplash. I didn’t even have time to wonder what someone
got paid to fake a romance before he continued. “I understand you have a
substantial amount of student loans. I’d like to rid you of that debt.”

I laughed. “That’s way too much,
Hudson.” He had no idea how much I’d needed to get through school. No idea how
heavy of a burden they were on me now.

“Not to me.”

“It is for me.” I sat forward,
challenging him. “It’s eighty thousand dollars.”

“Eighty four thousand two hundred
and six, to be exact.” 

I froze. How did he know that?

As he often did, he answered my
unasked question. “I own the bank that holds your loans. I looked them up
today. It would be very easy for me to have them written off. No actual money
would exchange hands, if that makes you feel better.”