For the Night: Complete Box Set (35 page)

‘I thought he never replied to your last request,’
whispered Mandy. I looked around to see we were on our own.

‘He didn’t,’ I confirmed. Mandy was the one who’d
got his email for me. She’d worked with someone before, who’d had one
appointment with Logan and told her how good he was. If it had been Mandy
herself, I couldn’t have done it. I’d hate to have slept with him, knowing he’d
already been with one of my friends.

‘Then what the hell’s going on?’ she uttered,
looking at me confused.

‘Just the question I’m asking myself,’ I nodded. I
closed my eyes and took a deep breath, as I remembered him opening that front
door of The Dalton Hotel suite, I’d nearly passed out from nerves and
excitement to see him in person. He’d taken my breath away with his gorgeous
face and that smile that could power a thousand watt light bulb. I’d never seen
anyone so handsome before, or since. Damn him, I thought I was getting over
this ridiculous infatuation and sending me flowers was stirring up all the
feelings I’d had for him, not to mention making my nipples stand to attention
and my knickers dampen.

‘Right let’s check your hair again, it’s nearly
time, the limo will be here soon,’ ordered Rachel, as she marched back in with
her can of hairspray, which was permanently attached to her hand. After coaxing
and teasing a few strands and blasting me with enough spray that I’d go up like
a match, if someone put a naked flame near me, Mandy touched up my lip gloss
and Zoe appeared with the vase containing my beautiful single lily and
announced it was time for me to leave.

‘Knock them dead on that red carpet and if Daron
tries it on, slap him,’ ordered Mandy. I laughed and gave her a hug. We’d
become quite close in the time she’d worked on me during production and often
went out dancing together at weekends.

‘See you in the gardens before the film,’ nodded
Rachel. ‘We’ll take our kits to touch you up, if needed, before any
interviews.’

‘Put your gloss in your clutch,’ Mandy ordered.

‘Thanks girls, for everything,’ I stated
sincerely, as I grabbed my silver Lulu Guinness sparkly lips clutch that Logan
had purchased for me. I loved it and rarely had the chance to use it. Thank God
it matched my new dress.

‘You deserve it, you’ve worked so hard. Now get
gone, or you’ll miss your own premiere,’ smiled Zoe. ‘Our car’s waiting too.’

I headed downstairs and walked through the lobby,
turning heads as I went and smiled. I may have to get used to being in the
spotlight if tonight went well. I stalled as I stood outside the hotel
entrance. A few of the cast and crew were staying here and there were a number
of limousines waiting with the doors open and the drivers standing to
attention.

‘Miss Beresford, you’re with me this evening,’
announced one, as he stepped forward. I looked at him in surprise, I was sure I
recognised him. I suddenly took a startled gasp, as I realised it was James,
the driver Logan had sent for me, the one who’d delivered the dress, clutch,
underwear and flowers to my house, for our appointment last time. It
had
to be a coincidence, he must be Daron’s driver too.

‘James?’

‘You have an excellent memory, as well as beauty.
You look stunning this evening. Are you looking forward to your night?’

‘I’m a little nervous,’ I nodded, as he gestured
to the open car door.

‘I’m sure you’ll be absolutely fine with the right
man by your side,’ he winked. I looked at him wondering what that was supposed
to mean. I was sure I wasn’t going to be fine with Daron at all. He was
becoming a nuisance, he was that persistent and I’d reached the end of my
limited patience with him. If he tried to grab my backside or breasts, or even
looked at me the wrong way tonight, he was going to get the hardest slap of his
life. I carefully lifted my long dress and climbed into the low car, shuffling
back in the seat as I smoothed my dress back into place, while James closed the
door.

‘Good evening, Miss Beresford. May I say how
stunning you look tonight and how good it is to see you again,’ came a deep
sexy voice, that would have set my knickers on fire, if the thoughts of Logan
bloody Steele hadn’t already dampened them. I closed my eyes as I took a deep
breath. That wasn’t Daron Beck’s voice, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe
that
he
was here. That Logan himself might actually be sitting opposite
me, on the biggest night of my life.

I reached up to put my hand on my chest, over my
wildly beating heart and realised, as I slowly opened my eyes, that my hands
were actually shaking. I slowly drew my gaze up a pair of black trousers,
covering some long legs that were parted, making me gulp as I saw the sizeable
bulge straining against the crotch. The jacket of his tuxedo was undone,
revealing a crisp white shirt with pleats, topped off by a bowtie. One hand was
resting on his solid thigh, the other stretched out in a casual pose, across
the back of the leather seat. My brain was arguing with itself, as to whether I
should look higher to see the face of my companion. If it wasn’t Logan I was
going to be massively disappointed, but if it
was,
how the hell was I
supposed to process that? I flitted my eyes up quickly and heard myself take a
startled breath to see it
was
him. Logan Steele, the man who’d driven me
crazy for the last ten months, was sitting opposite me with a smirk on his
handsome face. I went dizzy as his grey eyes locked with mine and I forget to
breathe, as I was flooded with a surge of heat. Damn him for being so gorgeous
and damn him for being here. I could feel the tension and sexual attraction
sizzling the air between us. He wanted to fuck me right now, and God, did I
want him too, but not until he explained himself, if at all.

‘Mr. Steele, what the
hell
are you doing
here?’ I demanded, when I finally took in some air and my annoyance overrode
the feelings of desire I had for him.

Logan

I fidgeted as I sat in the
limo, waiting for her to come down. I couldn’t get comfortable. I’d done my
jacket up, undone it, then repeated again. Tried sitting with my legs crossed,
an ankle on my knee, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, sitting back
in the seat with my arms folded.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I
wasn’t a nervous sort of guy, if anything I was confident bordering on cocky at
times, I knew it, but tonight you could virtually hear my bloody bones
rattling.

‘Fuck,’ I muttered, as I looked out of the blacked
out window. My heart had just moved into my mouth and my stomach did that weird
bloody thing it did every time I thought about her. She’d just walked out of
the hotel, in that purple designer dress I’d purchased for her, those sexy
shoes and the jewellery my best friend had persuaded Havershams to lend to her
for the weekend. However good I imagined she’d look, however beautiful I
remembered her face, or how she looked on her initial approach photo, which I’d
looked at more times than was healthy, was nothing compared to seeing her in
the flesh again. I adjusted my fresh erection, as I watched her head towards
James, knowing if she recognised him, there was a real possibility she’d
realise I was sitting in here and she’d refuse to get in. I’d instructed James
to manhandle her into the vehicle, as gently and efficiently as possible, if
required. No way was I leaving here without her sitting opposite me, until I
had a chance to explain, to say whatever the hell I needed to say. The worst of
it was, I still didn’t have a fucking clue
what
to say to her. I watched
as she climbed into the limo with her head down and sorted out her dress, as
James closed the door. Well it was now or never and I steeled myself for a
slap, resisting the urge to chuckle at my own pun.

‘Good evening, Miss Beresford. May I say how
stunning you look tonight and how good it is to see you again.’ I couldn’t help
the corners of my lips lifting into a smile, as she froze on hearing my voice.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw her hand fly up to her chest, as she
started to breathe faster. Excellent, my charms hadn’t worn off. She still
wanted me, not half as much as I wanted her though, of that I was convinced. I
wanted to blow off the premiere and drag her back up to her suite and spend the
whole night fucking her. In fact sod the suite, that was wasting valuable time
just getting up there, time when I could have my tongue down her throat tasting
her again. Her pupils widened as she finally locked eyes with mine and took a
startled breath. I swallowed hard, the sexual tension arcing between us was
almost unbearable. My cock flexed, as if it knew she was there, it knew being
buried deep inside her warmth was the only place I’d ever been truly happy.
Summer Beresford had redefined the meaning of the word for me, since that one
night together. Her eyes suddenly changed, the look of adoration and pure
sexual need, was suddenly replaced with a flash of anger.

‘Mr. Steele, what the
hell
are you doing
here?’ she demanded. Shit, “Mr. Steele” just sounded all the more hot in that
velvety, sensual tone of hers. I loved that she had fire in her belly, it
turned me on even more, if that were possible. Those eyes of hers, the purest
of bright blues, pierced my very soul. But the anger in them betrayed how much
I’d unknowingly hurt her.

‘I needed to see you again,’ I replied with a
shrug, as if that would cover everything. She glared at me for a moment,
looking confused, then reached for the door handle. ‘Where do you think you’re
going?’ I questioned, wondering if she’d realise that James had locked the
doors to avoid her getting out.

‘This is the biggest night of my life. You
suddenly show up, uninvited, after ignoring my last booking request, send me
flowers and quite possibly the blue lace knickers I’m currently shitting myself
in and you wonder why I don’t want to deal with you?’ she responded, with a
scowl that made me want to spank her, then fuck her into submission.

‘You’d rather it were Daron Beck sitting here?’ I
shot back, as I leaned forwards and placed my elbows on my parted knees. ‘Is
that why you’re angry?’

‘I’m angry because I was already nervous enough,
without finding you here instead of Daron, Mr. Steele.’

‘You’re seeing him?’ I asked as I frowned. That
delicious fluttering feeling I’d had in my stomach only moments before, was
suddenly replaced with a ball of white hot burning anger.

‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m
not seeing him. No girl in her right mind would see Daron Beck, Mr. Steele.’

‘It’s Logan, not Mr. Steele,’ I reprimanded.
Calling me that was just turning me on even more, not to mention the fact that
she obviously despised the man I’d been getting myself worked up over.

‘Calling you Logan implies familiarity. I’m just
the stupid girl who paid you to sleep with her, then got rejected on my second
attempt at a booking.’

‘I didn’t reject you, I never got your email until
the weekend.’

‘Don’t lie to me,’ she bit back. ‘I
detest
lies.’

‘I’m not lying. I only got your email on Sunday,’
I replied. It was the truth, she didn’t need to know it was because I’d blocked
her address and deleted her file, only for Ian, computer genius extraordinaire,
to restore it when I freaked out about Daron accompanying her tonight.

‘Be man enough to admit that I was just a client
who paid you to seduce her, I was sexually lacking and you didn’t want to see me
again. I’m a big girl, just as I can handle Daron and his unwanted advances, I
can handle you not wanting me.’

‘Are you sure about that, Miss Beresford? Your
voice and hands are shaking,’ I retorted, as I fought against the overwhelming
urge to reach out, grab her and yank her onto my lap as I took her mouth in a
possessive kiss. I wanted to brand her, to bite that slender bare neck and let
everyone around the world today see that she was already taken. Already mine.

‘I already told you that I’m nervous,’ she
responded, as she blinked a number of times and I saw tears forming in her
eyes.

‘Daron Beck isn’t worthy of you, Summer. He’s a
player who’s abusive to women. I didn’t like the idea of you drinking a load of
Kir Royales while in his company, in case he took advantage of you later.’

‘You remembered my favourite drink? As well as my
favourite flowers?’ she whispered, as she cocked her head to look at me
surprised.

‘I remember everything about you, Summer. So as
James has already set off and you have no other way of getting to your premiere
in time, how about I set the record straight and you can tell me to go to hell
after?’ I advised, as adrenaline from seeing her finally kicked me into action.
‘You have no idea how badly I wanted you to make another booking. I’ve never
found it difficult to walk away from a woman the morning after, but the morning
I left you was hell. I’ve thought about you every single bloody day, multiples
times. You may have booked an appointment the first time we met, but you were never
“just the girl who paid me to seduce you” and you weren’t lacking. It was the
best night of my God damn life and I know that you felt our connection too,
don’t try and deny it.’ I could hear the anger in my voice, making it shake.
How else could I convince her that she was more than she thought?

‘What are you trying to say?’ she asked, looking
at me confused.

‘I’m not sure even I know, Summer. I just know
that I didn’t want you spending tonight with him and that I needed to see you
again. I haven’t come up with some master plan, or a schedule of events because
this isn’t a booking, this is me. It’s just me Summer, accompanying the most
beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, to the biggest night of her life, so she has
some support and doesn’t have to worry that any minute I’m going to force
myself on her, which you would have done with him.’

‘I’m the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?’
she asked quietly, as she studied my face for my reaction.

‘Yes,’ I responded instantly. I couldn’t help
myself, her hands were knotted in her lap, her fingers twisting around
themselves, so I reached out and parted them, both of us inhaling at the
electricity that sparked when we touched. I held both of her hands in mine, my
thumbs stroking the back of them, feeling the softness of her skin as I rubbed.
‘You’re not just a client to me, Summer. I like you. I really like you. I
needed to be here for you, with you.’

‘It was you a few months ago, that was parked by
my house, wasn’t it?’ she asked, taking me by surprise.

‘Yes,’ I nodded. ‘How did you know?’

‘My neighbour saw your car. We don’t get many
fancy cars in our street, we don’t get many cars period. She told us that she’d
watched a handsome young man sitting in some flash car, occasionally rubbing
his eyes and muttering, sometimes banging his hands on the steering wheel,
looking frustrated. She was wondering if she should call the police. I didn’t
want to get my hopes up that it was you.’

‘You wanted to see me again?’ I asked, unable to
stop the grin that spread across my face. Her cheeks went the most adorable
shade of pink as she hung her head.

‘Yes,’ she whispered, so quietly it was barely
audible. ‘You know I did, I tried to book you again.’

‘So you only wanted Logan Steele, not me?’ I asked
with another frown, feeling deflated all of a sudden.

‘I only know Logan Steele, the highly recommended
escort. I haven’t met the real you, not yet,’ she replied, as she looked back
up and held my gaze.

‘You have no idea how little truth there is in
that statement, Summer. I was more myself with you than I’ve ever been with any
other client,’ I retorted, feeling annoyed that she still didn’t believe me.
But there again why should she? ‘I’d never made love to a woman until that
night, not held them and watched them sleeping, never felt protective over
them, driven them home in my own car the next day. I’ve never missed anyone
after a booking, either. I told you I’ve thought about you every day and I
wasn’t lying,’ I added firmly, really hoping she’d see I was telling the truth.

‘I’ve thought about you every day too,’ she
replied, as she blushed again and I felt my chest expand. ‘I’m still not sure
what that means.’

‘Does it have to mean something right now? Can’t
we just accept that we’re attracted to each other, that we’ll spend the evening
together and see how it goes?’

‘I … I’m not … I’m not sure we can,’ she
stuttered, as she quickly pulled her hands out of mine and shrank back into the
corner.

‘Why not? Is there someone else? Are you seeing
someone?’ I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.

‘No,’ came her fast response. I sat back in my
seat, closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands as I slowly exhaled the
biggest sigh of relief. If she wasn’t seeing anyone, hopefully that meant that
my sweet virgin,
my
sweet and innocent Summer, could still be mine. That
thought was quickly shattered with her next statement. ‘I’m not sure it’s a
good idea, you accompanying me tonight. This is the night that I’m under the
spotlight, it could launch my career. How’s it going to look, if it comes out,
that my date for the evening fucks other women for money?’

Summer

I hated saying it, but it
had
to be said.
My agent and the producers would be furious. I’d been chosen because of my
innocence, I’d been warned not to put myself into any situations that would
lead to a tabloid heading of “Summer Beresford, caught in an orgy” or anything
else that would tarnish my name or their film, until it had at least broken
even, or I was too popular for the headline to adversely affect us all. That was
after I’d already paid up for my night with Logan, and I wasn’t about to waste
that sizeable amount of money and risk my role in this film, with my previous
naivety affecting my ability to act as a sexy confident woman, well versed in
the art of kissing, touching, giving and receiving. Logan dropped his hands
from his face to look at me and it made me wince to see the look of hurt on his
face. I felt so conflicted and confused. He was an
escort
. A man paid to
seduce women, to lie and tell them what they wanted to hear. Yet he was here
now, uninvited and unpaid. He’d purchased me flowers and underwear, organised
his driver to be here, God knows how he’d got around Daron, because he was as
persistent as a dog with a bone.