“Middle of the night?” she repeated.
“I did warn you, twenty-four seven. And none of the other rooms have this added benefit,” I said as I opened the connecting door between her room and my suite. I never really understood the appeal of the door up until this moment, but it would certainly come in handy with my little Angel sleeping next door to me.
“A connecting door,” she stuttered, gazing up at me with innocent green eyes.
“Yes, so you can come to me anytime. This door is always open to you, but not to me until you come to me on your own,” I reassured her.
“When you offered me the job as your live-in assistant, I wasn’t expecting to be treated to so much luxury,” she sighed, glancing around the room in wonder.
“I promised to give you time, but I never said anything about making it easy for you to resist me,” I explained.
Her green eyes flashed as she looked up at me again. “Just don’t think for a second that you can buy your way into my affections.”
I felt my blood pump through my veins at her words and my cock swelled in my pants again. I wanted nothing more than to drag her to my bed, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.
“I don’t pay for sex,” I chided her. “But making sure you’re comfortable is my responsibility, Angel.”
“I’ve been responsible for myself for a long time,” she retorted, her spine straightening at the suggestion she couldn’t take care of herself.
“Now you’ve got me to lighten your load then.”
***
I
left Angelica to get settled into her room and headed straight for my office. I might have allowed my dick to do my thinking for me by bringing her to my home, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try to be smart about it after the fact. I knew just who to call to make sure I hadn’t royally fucked up by moving her in here.
“Long time no talk,” Brecken answered. “Just because I moved halfway across the country doesn’t mean we aren’t friends anymore.”
“Phone works both ways,” I retorted, even though I knew he had his hands full opening a new business.
“That it does. That it does,” he murmured. “Things have been kinda crazy here getting everything off the ground.”
“It’s going well?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I’ve got more jobs being thrown my way than I can handle. Shit man, I already need to hire more guys and it’s only been two months since I opened up shop.”
“I’m damn happy to hear things are good,” I congratulated him. “But I’m not surprised considering the type of strings you can pull.”
Brecken and I were childhood friends who took very different paths in life. While I was enjoying all the benefits that came from owning the restaurants, nightclubs and strip joints I’d inherited from my dad, he had joined the military to get away from his family. He’d done an excellent job serving our country, almost too good, and they weren’t happy when he decided not to reenlist a few months ago. Lucky for him, he’d managed to survive the hellholes they’d sent him to and learned a unique set of skills that he was hoping to turn into a profitable security business in Chicago.
“When are you going to come out for a visit and check on your investment?”
“Don’t be a dick,” I snapped. “It wasn’t an investment and you know it. It was a fucking gift.”
“Call it whatever you want, but you better cash the checks I send to pay you back,” he warned.
“How about you help me out with something instead of sending me a damn check?” I growled.
“You in trouble?” Brecken asked, his tone turning serious.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it trouble,” I muttered. “But I need you to run a background check for me.”
“A background check?” he parroted.
“Yeah,” I confirmed before giving him all the information I had on Angelica.
“I’ve only been gone a few months Morgan,” he reminded me. “How the fuck have you gotten serious enough with some chick that you need me to look into her? The girl must have a golden pussy or something to make you even think about giving up all the women who throw themselves at you.”
“Don’t fucking talk about her like that,” I growled. “And I didn’t say anything about giving up other women.” I might not have said anything but I sure as hell had already thought it, which was scary as fuck.
“You just bit my head off for saying something you wouldn’t have thought twice about before her,” he pointed out. “And you’ve never bothered to check into the background of any of the women who’ve been in your bed before. So don’t even bother trying to convince me there isn’t something different about this one.”
“Fine,” I spit out. “She’s different.”
“How’d you meet her? Please tell me she isn’t one of those frosty high society babes who love to spend your money.”
I thought about how she burned up in my arms even as her innocence shown from her eyes. “No, she’s the furthest thing from it,” I murmured. “Considering I met her today when she came into the steakhouse to try-out for a position as a dancer.”
“Thought you had a no stripper rule?” he asked.
“I didn’t hire her to strip,” I replied. “She’s going to be my personal assistant.”
“Since when did you need an assistant?”
“Since I wanted to make sure she didn’t get away from me and I realized she was living in a shit-hole motel while she was waiting for college to start,” I countered.
“Holy fuck, man!” he howled. “You met her today and she’s living in your house already? Why even bother with the background check? You’re a goner. She’s gonna have you wrapped up tight in no time at all. Mark my words.”
“Shut the fuck up and do your damn job,” I grumbled.
“Sure, no problem, man,” he chuckled. “I’ll get right on it so you’ll know if the chick you’ve already moved into your house hours after meeting her is on the up-an-up or not. Hell, it’s easy enough that I’m sure I’ll be able to do it from the plane while we head out for a K&R job that was just called in this morning.”
“There’s no rush. Just get back to me when you can.”
“At the pace you’re going with her, if I don’t get back to you tomorrow you might be married to her before I can,” he joked.
I wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous, but the words just wouldn’t come. He was right about one thing, I didn’t understand how it was possible but I was pretty sure Angelica already had me wrapped up tight in no time flat.
M
y first few days living in Morgan’s home and working for him were pretty boring. It quickly became apparent to me that he hadn’t been prepared to hire a live-in assistant when he made the offer because he had no idea what he wanted me to do. I should have realized when I saw the car and the house that he didn’t just own a strip club because as nice as Morgan’s was, it certainly didn’t pay for everything he owned. A man in his position already had a team of helpers to do his bidding, including an administrative assistant at the office who took care of his schedule and most of his correspondence, a cleaning service who came every other day and a grocery service who delivered everything he wanted to the house.
It took me almost another week before I came up with enough things to do for Morgan to be able to pretend like I was earning the ridiculous salary he was paying me. It wasn’t an easy task though because it seemed like my number one duty was to stay by his side. I kept my eyes open and jotted notes down for everything I saw that I thought I could take care of and presented him with my list this morning. He’d looked stunned by my list before he’d smirked smugly and agreed with my ideas—right before he’d suggested we go shopping so that I would be properly dressed for the job. When I’d tried to argue, he’d just pointed out that I was representing him since most of what I’d come up with was me running interference between him and his army of helpers. He’d made it impossible to say no and I’d found myself bundled into his car and swept off to Nordstrom’s before I’d known what was happening.
“Welcome to Nordstrom’s Mr. Cadwell,” an elegant redheaded woman closer to Morgan’s age greeted him as he led me into a changing room set off to the side. Her green eyes sparkled as she looked at him, lashes fluttering in a manner I would have thought she had grown out of by now.
“Marla, this is Miss Rose,” he answered, drawing her rapt attention from him to me.
“Yes,” she sighed. “Lovely to meet you.”
“And you,” I replied, not meaning it since it was impossible to miss the annoyance that flashed in her eyes as she looked me up and down. I deeply regretted not taking more care for this shopping trip because my shorts and t-shirt made me feel incredibly young and unattractive compared to how well put together she was.
“I’ve got the room set up with options selected just for Miss Rose based on our conversation, Mr. Cadwell,” she simpered.
“A complete overhaul, correct?” he clarified.
“Yes, I’ve included everything from shoes to sunglasses and I’ve got a couple girls who can help with sizes and pull other items if needed,” she said, clapping her hands to signal to the other shoppers that they should join us.
It was like I’d walked onto the set of a high-end fashion-modeling shoot with the way everyone was dressed. I highly doubted they usually put this much effort into what they wore to work and figured they had hoped to catch Morgan’s eye based on the sly looks that were sent my way. Although we had spent nearly every waking hour with each other over the past week, he hadn’t made any more advances towards me so I wasn’t sure of how to act anymore. I wanted to stake my claim and make it clear that he was mine, but it just wasn’t true.
Some of my indecision must have been clear on my face because the women seemed triumphant and ramped up the flirting as I tried on different outfits. Morgan didn’t pay any attention to them, though. I’d tried on a few options and would have been happy to stop there until I saw the dress that changed it all. The silky material was a swirling together of several shades of green. I knew it would make my eyes pop and once I put it on I fell in love with it and couldn’t wait to see the look on Morgan’s face when he saw me in it.
When I stepped out of the dressing room, Morgan was looking down at his phone while Marla leaned over his shoulder to speak into his ear. He nodded his head idly, and I cleared my throat to get his attention. “Holy fucking Christ,” he breathed.
“I’m not sure where I’d wear it to, but I really love this dress,” I murmured, walking towards him with my eyes locked on his.
“We’ll find somewhere,” he assured me. “Even if I have to throw a fucking party. You are getting that dress.”
“I should probably say no because it’s ridiculously expensive, but I don’t think I can resist this one,” I admitted.
He looked up at Marla and shooed her away before speaking again. “You’ll learn soon enough that there’s no point saying no to me anyway, Angel, because I’ll just have to find ways to change your mind if you do.”
He reached out a finger and trailed it along my naked leg as he spoke. With him sprawled in a chair and me in heels, he could probably look up the skirt of the dress if he wanted to do so. He lifted the hem slightly and his eyes heated as he stared at me.
“Why do I have a feeling I’d enjoy your method of persuasion?” I asked throatily.
“Because I’d make sure you did,” he promised, glancing down at his watch afterwards. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the time or place for a lesson in persuasion.”
“I haven’t tried anything on yet,” I objected. “I’ve only gotten through maybe a quarter of it so far.”
He clasped my hand in his and rubbed his thumb in circles around my palm. “Was there anything you’ve tried on that didn’t fit?”
“It all fit perfectly,” I answered, my breath hitching.
The circles continued, the tip of his finger dipping between mine with each upward swipe. “Anything you didn’t like? Something that wasn’t your style?”
“None of it’s really my style since any one of these outfits probably costs more than my entire wardrobe,” I confessed as I glanced down at the dress I was wearing, feeling guilty for loving it so much.
His hand tightened on mine until my eyes met his again. “But if money were no object, are these the types of things you’d buy for yourself?”
“Maybe,” I admitted. “But I’d probably go for more casual stuff—jeans, sandals, yoga pants. I’m not a very formal person.”
He nodded his head, as though agreeing with my assessment of myself. “It’s one of the things I like best about you.”
“What is?”
“How comfortable you seem just being yourself.”
Really, how could I argue with a guy who said things like that? Who liked me for me? You couldn’t, which was how I found myself being led to his car without any argument about how much money he’d spent on me.
“We’ve got one more stop,” Morgan said as he headed in the opposite direction of the house.
“I’m not sure how that’s possible, considering everything you’ve already bought for me today,” I replied.
“It’s not like I can’t afford it,” he retorted. “Besides, it’s all stuff you need because you’ve become a part of my life. Please keep that in mind during this stop.”
“You can’t buy me a car,” I protested as Morgan pulled into the Audi dealership.
“I can do whatever the hell I want to do,” he retorted, parking the Maserati in front of the building before turning to look at me.
“I already have a car.”
He laughed lightly and the raspy sound sent goosebumps up my arms. “I don’t think it’s fair to call that rust-bucket a car.”
“Hey! My mom loved that car,” I grumbled.
“Angel,” he sighed as he used his forefinger to lift my chin until I was looking into his eyes. “I’m not saying you have to get rid of your mom’s car if it means something to you. I have plenty of garage space to store it, but when you aren’t riding with me, you will be driving a car that I know is safe.”
“So bossy,” I muttered.
“Better get used to it,” he retorted as he lifted my hand to his mouth to place a kiss on my palm. “Now let’s go get you a car.”
“Do I at least get to pick which one?” I asked sarcastically, pretty sure I knew the answer.
“As long as it’s the newest A7 with all the bells and whistles and you want it in white or silver, then yes you can pick whichever one you want,” he replied with a hint of humor in his tone.