Seductive Guest (8 page)

You were staring at my ass, weren’t you?

I rolled my eyes and laughed at the same time.
Do you ever get tired of being cocky?

Never.

I put my phone down and tried not to think about River, the flirtatious and affectionate escort I hired. He crossed the line then stepped back over and over, dancing around what was appropriate and what wasn’t appropriate. But his position on the line never bothered me. And I thought that was interesting.

“Meadow?”

Nathan’s voice came into my ear and I looked up at him. “Mr. Maxwell, what can I get you?” I pushed River from my mind and reminded myself I was at work.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I said your name a few times but you didn’t react…”

My head was in the gutter. “I’m sorry, Mr. Maxwell. It’s been a long day.”

Nathan eyed me with intelligent eyes that saw right through my words. “So, you’re seeing someone?” His voice didn’t contain any excitement or joy. But it didn’t contain irritation either. I had no idea how he felt about it.

“Yeah, we’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.” I kept my answers vague like River told me. I wasn’t sure how River knew Nathan would ask me about him. He was dead on about it. And it was surprising since River hadn’t even met Nathan.

Nathan nodded slowly. “It seems like you guys are pretty serious.” He stared at me like he was waiting for an answer to a question he never asked.

How did I answer that?
I tried to remember everything River told me. “We’re just hanging out…taking it slow.”

Nathan watched me like a hawk.

He’d never stared at me like that before. I felt like I was the only person in the room. Actually, I felt like I was the only person in the building. He regarded me with a slightly cold look. There was something else to it but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“I see…”

This was getting weird. I’d never been in this situation with Nathan before. Was he jealous? Or was he just annoyed that I was making out with River while at work? I had no idea what he was thinking.

“Where’d you meet him?”

Why did he want to know?
“At a bar.” I didn’t know what else to say. That I hired him to pretend to be my love interest? I’m sure that would go over well.

“It looks like he’s really into you.”

Seriously, this was weird. We’d never had a conversation like this.
“Uh, I think he’s just affectionate. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”

He chuckled. “He’s head-over-heels for you and you don’t even see it.”

I shrugged. “I guess I don’t pay that much attention.” I felt like a bitch for saying that. I had to pretend I didn’t care about River’s feelings at all. That wasn’t something I would ever do. Why did it make me more desirable to not care about someone’s feelings? I would never understand sexual politics.

“Or maybe you’re just blind.”

There were no words on my tongue. What did I say to that? I tried not to get overly excited by Nathan’s interest. Last time I read too deeply into his actions and I got ditched at a fancy charity event while he fucked some blonde all weekend. That was a mistake I wouldn’t make again. Nathan would have to give me a clear sign before I let my guard down. “Well, I should get back to work. Is there anything you need?”

“Actually, there is one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t call me Mr. Maxwell,” he said. “I prefer Nathan.”

“Of course,” I said with a nod.

“Thank you.”

He headed back to his office.

And I sat there, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

River

“How’s your new client?” Jett asked as he sat across from me. He was on his third beer.

“Not bad,” I said. I kept most of the details to myself.

“Is she weird? Annoying?”

“No,” I said. “She’s actually really cool. And she’s got beautiful eyes.”

“Blue?”

“Green.”

He nodded. “At least you got a good one.” Jett was being careful around me. He knew he pissed me off when he set me up with that horror named Theresa. It still irritated me when I thought about it. The brat slapped me around with a purse like I was her little bitch. If she were a dude, her face would have been slammed into the concrete.

“This girl is using me to get some guy’s attention. But he’s a total douche. Her stupidity irritates me sometimes.”

“Why is the guy a douche?”

“He’s your typical playboy billionaire. He took her as a date to a charity event then ditched her when he hooked up with some chick. He’s arrogant, pompous, and thinks he’s god. I have no idea what this girl sees in him.”

“Girls usually have terrible taste,” he said. “Look at Ophelia. She settled for me—not that I mind.”

“Yeah, still not sure how that happened.” I drank my beer and gave him a venomous look.

He ignored the jab. “You think this girl has any hope?”

“I do. She’ll snatch him soon.”

“If this guy hasn’t been interested why would he suddenly change his mind?”

“Because I taught her a few things,” I said. “She’s one of those natural beauties, the kind that doesn’t have to wear make up to be sexy. But I changed her wardrobe and made her wear heavy make up. As soon as the guy saw her he was hard.”

“I prefer the no make up look,” Jett said. “When Ophelia wakes up in the morning she looks amazing.”

“I prefer it too. And that’s another thing that irritates me about her. She’s willing to change who she is for some dumbfuck.”

Jett gripped his beer and eyed me. “You sound involved in this…”

“I just care about my client,” I said immediately. “What does she expect to accomplish? Even if she did get him, she wouldn’t be happy. And he would get tired of her eventually then kick her to the side. A beautiful girl like that should have her pick of the crop, not the other way around.”

Jett continued to stare at me suspiciously. “You got a thing for this girl?”

“No,” I blurted. “But I think she’s cute.”

“You speak highly of her.”

“I hardly know her.” I took a drink of my beer.

“But you—”

“I’m still pissed off at you over the Theresa fiasco. Don’t piss me off more.”

Jett pressed his lips tightly together and shut his mouth.

The door opened and a pretty brunette walked inside. She wore a short dress that hugged every curve like it was an extra layer of skin. As she came closer to me I realized it was Meadow. And I smiled.

“Hey, sweetheart.” I stood from the booth and looked down at her. “Glad you could make it.”

Jett watched us while he drank his beer.

“Well, you ordered me to get my ass down here. It didn’t seem like I had much of a choice in the matter.” Her voice contained her sarcasm. I liked the way she used it. She could be sweet but sassy at the same time.

“You’re right. You didn’t.” My arm moved around her waist and I moved her to the booth. “Take a seat.”

She scooted over and looked at Jett. “Hi, I’m Meadow.”

Jett stared at her like she was unidentifiable sea creature. “Meadow? That’s your name?”

“Yeah…” She cocked an eyebrow.

“Like, your birth name?” he asked.

“Yes, dickhead,” I said. “That’s her name.” I turned to Meadow. “Sorry, he’s a little slow.”

“I’m not making fun of her name,” Jett snapped. “It’s just ironic that you guys both have hippie names.”

“They are awesome names,” I said. “You’re just jealous.”

“Yeah,” Meadow said. “They are super cool.”

Jett rolled his eyes. “Fine. Gang up on me.”

“That’s what you get for setting me up with a monster.” I leaned back in the booth and put my arm over the back of the chair, touching the top of Meadow’s shoulders. The act was impulsive.

Jett watched my movements with keen eyes.

“What monster?” Meadow asked.

I sighed. “Jett set me up on a date from hell.”

“Dude, I didn’t know she was psycho,” Jett argued. “Get off my case.”

“What did she do?” Meadow asked.

“First of all, she ate like a pig,” I said. “She even snorted a few times. Then she was superficial, rude, and man, she wouldn’t shut the hell up. Then when I walked her home, she said I was just trying to sleep with her when I was just being nice. And then when I snapped, she smacked me around with her purse until I finally got inside a cab.”

Meadow pressed her lips tightly together like she was trying not to laugh. “That does sound terrible.”

I released a deep sigh. “She was a fucking nightmare.”

“I can tell.”

“You’re a peach compared to her—even if you are a little annoying.”

“I’m not annoying,” she argued. “You’re the one who’s annoying.”

“It didn’t seem like I was annoying you when I was kissing you and making you swoon.”

Meadow rolled her eyes. “Maybe I wasn’t swooning. Maybe I was just in shock.”

“No. If I touched your panties they would be soaked.”

She smacked my arm. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I know,” I said. “I get that a lot.”

She hit me again.

Her slaps were so weak it was just funny. “I sincerely hope you can hit harder than that when you need to.”

“You want to find out?” she challenged.

Her eyes were bright in irritation, and her lips were slightly parted like she was about to dish out another insult. I found the look innately sexy, alluring. Her soft hair framed her face, and her tits looked nice in the dress. I didn’t think about my actions before I did them. I swooped in and gave her a hard kiss. “You’re more of a lover than a fighter.”

Meadow stared at me blankly, like I just took her breath away.

“Point proven.” I turned back to Jett, and his jaw was dropped.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he mouthed.

I ignored his silent words.

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” Meadow said when she finally found her words.

“And I’m a good kisser.”

“And you’re an arrogant prick,” she snapped.

“Wow, then I’m just like Nathan,” I said. “That’s exactly what you want.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.

Jett excused himself from the table. “I need to head out. River, I’ll talk to you later.” He gave me a look that said, “We will be talking about this later.”

“See ya,” I said with a slight wave.

“It was nice to meet you,” Meadow said politely.

“You too,” Jett said before he walked away.

I turned to Meadow when he was gone. “So, what happened after I left?”

A wide smile stretched on her face and her eyes lightened noticeably. They glowed by their own energy, reminding me of a mighty oak tree the moment the sun rises and its rays touch the tips of the green leaves. Instead of filling me with awe or joy, I was irritated. I couldn’t even appreciate her beauty. “When we first walked into the office and he saw me in my new look, he stared at me a lot before he headed to his office. And after you left he asked me about you.”

I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice. “And what did he ask?”

“If we were serious, how we met, stuff like that.”

I wasn’t surprised. Meadow wearing a dress tight on her ass and chest and having her be adored by a pretty man would get any guy wondering what he was missing out on. “And what did you say?”

“I kept it casual, like I wasn’t sure if I was into you or not.”

“Good.” I took a drink to mask my look of disappointment.

“Nathan has never paid me so much attention before.” Her eyes looked away, staring at something in the distance. Her mind seemed to be focusing on past memories. “He’s never even asked me about my love life. But then he was standing at my desk, asking all those questions. It was…nice. I’m not sure if he was at all interested in me or jealous but…at least he noticed. I learned the hard way not to read too deeply into his actions.”

“That’d be smart.”

“I try not to get my hopes up that he might see me the way I see him…but sometimes it’s hard. I felt like the only person in the office.”

Seriously, what did she see in this clown? He was a jerk off. I kept my insult back because she made it clear it annoyed her, and more importantly, it wouldn’t change her mind. I’d been searching for a girl to settle down with, and the first cool girl I meet wants some douche that doesn’t want her. Was that a sign I should stop searching and just embrace my bachelor life? Maybe it was. “He will, Meadow. As long as he’s not gay, it’ll happen.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Just trust me on this.” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind he got a hard-on the moment he saw me grope her like she was an orange about to be juiced. I saw his eyes move to her firm ass while I held her. He was definitely checking her out. But what Meadow didn’t understand was his interest was purely lustful. There would be no happily ever after even if she got him.

“Trust doesn’t come easy for me,” she said. “But I guess I will.”

“Can I ask you something?” I said as I turned to her. “In all seriousness.”

“I suppose.” She turned her face toward mine. To an outsider it would look like we were together.

“If you do get Nathan’s interest…where do you see it going?”

She stared into my eyes for a moment before she found her response. “I don’t know. But does anyone ever really know? Isn’t that the beauty of it?”

“If you just wanted to sleep with him to get this crush out of your system I would agree with you. But it’s pretty clear that guy isn’t a one-woman type of man. And those types of people never make exceptions. Since you’re in love with him, I’m afraid he’s going to hurt you. I just don’t want to watch you get crushed.”

“Well, he might change his mind…”

Nothing I said would change her mind.
“I guess.”

She turned away and changed the subject. “So, does Jett work with you?”

“He’s an escort too.”

“I guessed as much,” she said. “He’s really cute.”

“He’s taken,” I blurted.

She chuckled. “I wasn’t going to go for him. Calm down, River.”

“I’m just warning you. His lady is feisty.”

“You think I’m not?” she asked.

“I think she can take you.”

“Hey, I do kickboxing.”

“Yeah?” I asked with a grin. “That’s pretty hot.”

“So, don’t mess with me. I could kick your ass—literally.”

I chuckled. “I don’t know about that. But okay.”

“I could,” she pressed.

“Well, I have a move that will beat anything you throw at me.”

Her eyes narrowed in interest. “What is it? How does the move work?”

My hand dug into her hair then I stole another kiss. This time, I made it last longer than all the other ones. My lips massaged hers and I slipped my tongue into her mouth. Hers met mine and they danced together.

I kissed her because I loved doing it. She was unnaturally good at it, and it got me fired up. She gave me just enough of her, but didn’t overdue it. Some girls had no idea what they were doing. But Meadow did. Her full lips massaged mine with just enough aggression to make it passionate but not intense.

I was the one to pull away first, like always.

Her eyes looked dazed, like she just awoke from a beautiful dream. “Why do you always kiss me?”

“Why do you always kiss me back?”

She stared at me but held her silence.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I guess I hoped I could make her fall for me and forget about that asshole, Nathan. She’d been in love with the guy forever so I knew I was wasting my time. But that didn’t stop me. “You want to come over for dinner?” I blurted that out without thinking.