From Sanctum With Love (Masters and Mercenaries Book 10) (7 page)

“I’m well aware of where Jared is at all times, thank you very much. I’m his personal assistant and…well, we’re very close.”

Sure they were. “Good for you both. I hope you’re very happy together.”

Kori turned and started looking through her bag for her keys. One of these days she was going to downsize. Smaller bag, less shit. Why did she need all that crap?

“Look, I need to talk to you about what Jared requires in his living space.”

The one thing she didn’t have? A Taser. She could use a Taser. She would bet Skinny Bitch wouldn’t even need much voltage. “Why the hell would I care about that?”

“Because you’re Kai Ferguson’s assistant and Jared will be living with him for the duration of the filming. Also, I’ll need to see the space reserved for him at the club.”

She could almost feel her jaw hitting the ground. Kai didn’t live with anyone because he was a prissy, control freak who had a touch of OCD complex he couldn’t seem to admit to. She didn’t blame him or anything. He was a germaphobe, too. It was all part of the unique crazy that made up her boss. He didn’t share well. Oh, she was sure he would be totally horrified by that statement. He was all about the love and peace and sereneness that came from self-awareness, and he could totally lead others to that place. But he wasn’t exactly there himself. “Kai didn’t mention anything about us having guests.”

“I don’t know about what Mr. Ferguson did or didn’t say to his employees. I only know that I take care of Jared and that means for the next few weeks, you’ll have to take care of him, too. He’s going to need his favorite protein bars, coconut water, a juicer—that has to have a 900-megahertz chopping engine—the crappy ones won’t do. He’ll need a set of kettle balls and a space for his training. He has to keep his body fit.” She gave Kori a onceover. “I don’t think that you’ll fully comprehend the needs of an athlete so you should probably make up a guest room for me as well. I can stay close to Jared and ensure he has everything he needs.”

What the hell was going on? “Sleep on the couch. I don’t care. There’s only Kai’s room and a tiny guest room. The rest of the building is for Kai’s practice.”

“That’s not acceptable. We might need to bring in a designer to make the place comfortable for him. I don’t understand why he thinks staying here is a good idea.”

“Apparently he wants to spend time with his brother.” It was still sinking in that Kai had an international superstar brother that he never talked about. They’d had a thousand conversations. She’d spent late nights talking about everything from politics to TV shows to restaurants. Never—not even once—had he said oh, and hey, my brother happens to be that dude on TV every woman pants after. Ever heard of him?

Then again, it wasn’t like she’d said “hey, guess what? I used to write screenplays and I’ve had a bunch of movies made and developed some awesome TV shows that I didn’t get paid for because I was way too invested in my Master.”

Yeah, she’d definitely not talked about that.

How much had they kept from each other? She’d thought she was the only one who was hiding something, holding back. It looked like Kai had held out as well.

“If this guy was a good brother, I would have met him by now. I’ve been around Jared for three years now and this Kai person has never called or come to visit him.”

Which made her wonder what the hell had happened between them. Kai had worked hard to build a new family. Kai was a man who was desperate to have people depend on him. It was why he’d started in the D/s lifestyle in the first place. He’d needed the responsibility.

And he needed to go seriously hard core on a woman who could handle it. Like she could handle it. Like she craved it.

It was precisely why she’d stayed away from him. She’d stayed away from all of them. She’d played the lightweight sub who needed the occasional spanking and service role to feel complete. God, she hadn’t had an orgasm in years. Not a real one. Not a screaming, eyes rolling to the back of her head, wail his name orgasm.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like it’s none of my business.” If Kai hadn’t talked to her about his brother, he didn’t want her to know. Despite the fact that she was dying to know, it seemed too personal. If she got involved in this, she would be stepping over a line she’d decided a long time ago she wouldn’t step over. She’d decided it about three minutes after meeting Kai because she’d immediately known that this was a man who could dominate her, who could give her what she needed and she would hand over all of herself.

“It’s everyone’s business.” The skinny chick wouldn’t let up. Her foot tapped against the concrete. “Jared is important. He’s going to be here for at least eight weeks. Two weeks prep. Six weeks principal filming in this hellhole. Then we get to go back to LA and civilization, so I need to know everything I can about making our time here survivable. Jared is a saint so he’s staying here while the rest of us get to be in what passes for a luxury hotel in this part of the world. So you’ll give me a list of the restaurants that are worth eating at, the stores I won’t barf at shopping in, and clubs that he won’t mind being seen in.”

“Or you could fuck yourself hard.” Skinny Bitch was getting on her last nerve. Lately she’d begun to miss a few things about LA. She missed West Hollywood and the dog park across from her house. She missed going out to Santa Monica and walking along the beach, going to the pier and people watching. She did not miss star personal assistants with over-inflated egos. Yeah, she’d dealt with more than one of those.

“Kori?” a deep voice said.

Fuck. She should have run.

Skinny Bitch turned on those designer heels of hers, her whole demeanor changing in a minute. The nasty look on her face turned to a sunny smile and her voice went up about two octaves. “Jared, I was talking to this secretary, trying to make sure you’re comfortable here.”

Jared didn’t look at his PA. His eyes were steady on Kori. “Lena, I told you not to worry about that. I can handle myself. Go back to the limo and wait with Squirrel and the rest of the crew. We’ll go and get a late lunch before we go to the club tonight.”

Lena nodded and fiddled with her phone. “All right. Just to remind you, tomorrow is Jessica’s birthday.” She glanced Kori’s way. “Jessica is his girlfriend. She’s going to win an Oscar this year.”

Good for freaking Jessica. Jessica Hamilton. Kori had never met her, but she’d read articles about the dramatic actress’s relationship with Jared. “I’m going to leave now. Bye.”

Jared moved in, turning his back and leaning on her car, obviously blocking her way. “Stop hiding, pretty girl. I found you.”

She could feel herself flush. “It wasn’t like I was hiding. I was going home.”

“You know this woman?” Lena asked as though shocked to her core.

Jared’s head turned and though she couldn’t see his eyes through the mirrored aviators he wore, Kori could have sworn that was a Dom look. It was definitely an alpha male stare as Lena started to back off.

“I’ll be in the limo.” She practically ran back to the waiting car.

Jared turned to Kori. “Sorry. She tries too hard sometimes. And while Jessica is my girlfriend in a professional sense, it’s not real. Like everything else in Hollywood, it’s all for show. We’re not actually involved in anything but a mutually beneficial friendship.”

Yeah, she did kind of miss the gossip. There was always Sanctum gossip, but it was innocuous stuff, unlike the juicy scandals from LA. “You two look so cozy in pictures.”

“You follow me?” His lips quirked up in a crazy sexy smile. There was a reason there were entire YouTube channels devoted to this man’s workout routines. He was smoking hot.

“It’s hard to miss you, buddy. You’re kind of everywhere.” Despite his hotness, she wasn’t getting pulled into any of that. Somehow he was still a boy compared to his brother.

“That’s what happens when you have an awesome publicist. He’s the one who introduced me to Jessica. The truth of the matter is I’m not her type and she’s not mine. It helps. No drama. Maximum exposure.”

“Hey, whatever works.” She didn’t want to get sucked back in. Her first impulse was to ask about a million questions because there was a story there. Jared Johns was pretty much everyone’s type. Straight girls. Gay guys. Anyone interested in penis would be all over that man. She kept her mouth shut though because that wasn’t her world anymore. Over time she’d started to watch some TV again but she hadn’t been to the movies in years.

Maybe she
had
been hiding.

“I always wondered where you went.” Jared’s voice went low, a bit softer than the command of before. “I kind of thought you would end up being a producer on the show.”

Humiliation was one thing, but damn it she hated to pretend. It wasn’t hurtful to simply refuse to talk about it, but she wasn’t going to lie. Jared was standing there looking good enough to eat and she probably had mascara issues. Next time, she would run over Lena and not care because she wouldn’t be here, looking utterly ridiculous. “I left because the executive producer of your show was an asshole who cheated on me, used me, and stole my script.”

Jared simply smiled. “Then it’s good you got out. How did you end up here, working with my brother? Was it Sully? I ask because he’s the guy who keeps up with Kai for me. Didn’t you work on a movie with him?”

She nodded. It wasn’t so surprising they both knew Sully. It was a shockingly small world. “He helped me get out, helped set me up with a job out here. He’s a good guy.”

“That he is. And you are looking beautiful.”

Sure she was. “Try selling that to someone who’s buying, Johns. This is awkward. Kai doesn’t know what I used to do.”

“And he never told you I was his brother.”

“Not a mention. I didn’t know he had one.” Which begged the question. “What did you do to him?”

Kai wouldn’t cut a family member out of his life without cause. He wasn’t that guy.

Jared was silent for a moment, looking away from her for the first time. “I slept with his fiancée.”

Without even thinking about it, she reached out and slapped at his arm. “Asshole.”

Of course it wasn’t like Kai had mentioned a fiancée either. There was some chick out there who he’d loved enough to ask her to marry him. Kai had gotten on one knee and pledged his devotion and that would mean something to a guy like Kai. He would have been faithful and loving and dominant, and he likely would have slapped that girl’s ass silly every night she wanted it. She could have walked around all her damn life with his mark on her and she’d chosen to sleep with the pretty boy?

Shit. Maybe she wasn’t as self-aware as she thought either since she was now flaming mad at some woman for fucking over her boss. Or was she heart broken because Kai had loved someone? Likely someone thin and pretty whose hair didn’t curl fifteen different ways. Someone who didn’t piss everyone off the minute she opened her mouth.

“Ow and yes, I was an asshole.” If Jared was seriously offended by her assault, he didn’t show it.

“Hey, do you need help?” A big guy stepped out of the limo, his massive body barely contained in a tight T-shirt.

Jared sighed. “No, I don’t need help taking a punch from a girl.” He looked down at her. “I call you a girl in this case because I know some women who can take me. Once you’ve had your ass handed to you by a female stunt double, you won’t ever discount women again.” His smile turned distinctly sensual and he leaned in. “Of course, if you want to move from girl to woman, I could help you out there. I have a lot of training in that area.”

“We’re about to see how he handles taking a girl’s knee to his dick, Mr. Muscle,” she warned the bodyguard.

Jared held up both hands as the bodyguard started to advance. “Get back in the limo, Bolt. She was pissed off because I explained to her why my brother hates me. I slept with his fiancée.”

Bolt frowned. “You suck, Johns. Give him hell, girl. You need to follow through on your punches. I’ll teach you.”

“Bolt?” Kori asked as the big guy slid back behind the wheel.

“It was his pro wrestling name. I hired him because he told me that
Dart
was a stupid fucking show and I needed a serious trainer instead of a pansy ass Hollywood boy. I spar with him at least once a week. What can I say? I like honesty. I don’t get much of it in my real life. It was one of the reasons I always liked you. Why haven’t you told Kai what you used to do? Is it because he can be a judgmental prick?”

She liked honesty, too, and the truth was Kai could be a little prissy sometimes. He had his hang-ups. “I don’t know why. At first I was embarrassed because I’d basically run out of LA with my tail between my legs. Then I guess I thought he wouldn’t like the fact that I’d lied to him. Also, he doesn’t think much of movies or TV. He’s more of a reader. Although now that I think about it, that’s probably your fault.”

Jared shook his head. “Nah, he was always a snob. He was reading psychology textbooks in high school. Although at one point in time he read comic books to me. It was why I was so interested in
Dart
.”

“I thought it was because you were an actor and you’d do anything to keep working.” It was pretty much the same way all over the entertainment business. You worked so you could continue working, a never-ending cycle of love and hate and joy. She did miss that part.

“Maybe. But some of it was because I knew you were involved with the project and I greatly admired your work. Hey, do you want to grab some dinner? I’m going to this club thing later on tonight. I could tell you about it over a burger or something.”

“You eat burgers?” She was so not going to any club Jared was likely to attend. It would be some superhot dance club where he and his entourage would sit in a roped off VIP section and let the little people oohh and ahh over the celebrity in their midst. Yeah, she would be at Sanctum hopefully getting her ass beat on by some baby Dom. She desperately needed to find some subspace after the day she’d had.

He slapped his very likely rock hard abs. “I work out three hours a day. You better believe I eat a burger from time to time. Or some pasta. We could go and get some Italian. Maybe after we could have some cheesecake. I fucking love cheesecake.”