“I doubt that.” He hooked my hand in his and pulled me down the sidewalk and around the corner. With the flick of a button, a jet-black Porsche roared to life.
“This is your car?”
“Borrowed it from a friend. A princess needs a chariot.”
I froze, eyes landing on him, before I dead-panned, “Are you for real right now?”
His eyebrows rose and he broke out into a sideways grin. “Real deal, babe.”
“Babe.” I nodded, glancing from him back to the car. “This is all so cheesy, I can’t even—”
“Don’t give a shit if it’s cheesy, Bryn.” He pressed a palm at my elbow and pulled me to him. Close enough that our bodies brushed together. “I plan on showing you how a man treats a woman. Maybe next time you won’t have to go back to that service to find a date.”
My muscles tensed at his words. “You don’t know anything about why I called—”
“I don’t need to, Bryn. A woman only calls a service…like mine…when she hasn’t been treated the right way by a real man. I’m changing that tonight. No two ways about it.”
I didn’t speak, letting his broad statements sink in. Was he right? I know I’d never been touched like he was touching me right now, and that felt pretty damn good.
“Are you going to be this bossy all night?” I finally pulled my elbow out of his reach.
A small chuckle fell past his lips before he replied. “Probably. Better you get used to it now.”
He opened the door, allowing me to slide onto the cool leather seats of the car.
“Fair warning,” I said as he slipped behind the wheel. “I don’t do well with being told what to do.”
His eyes cut to mine before the engine roared to life. “Let’s see about that.”
Chapter Four
Brodie
“Where we headed?” I glanced across the seat at her.
The way the slinky fabric of the champagne dress caressed her soft thighs made my dick pound.
She was so much more decadent, so much more fuckable than my feeble memory could have recalled.
She was drop dead gorgeous.
“Take I-90 north. Exit 374,” she mumbled, eyes steady out the windshield.
“Cat got your tongue?” I switched lanes, failing to turn on my blinker before cutting off another car and barely making it on the expressway ramp.
“More like the escort,” she quipped, shifting even farther away from me.
Not good.
Not good at all.
If this was going to work, she had to believe that I was an escort. I had to play the ruse. Didn’t I? I hadn’t even considered the implications of telling her, because I’d promised my brother I wouldn’t. But what the hell did it matter if I did? It’s not like she’d topple the whole business, or leave a bad review on Yelp. No, this is not how that worked.
“So…” I stole another glance. “What made you pick up the phone and make the date?”
One eyebrow arched at me, and then her mouth opened. “Because my sister is getting married and I absolutely can’t stand the judgment in her eyes. It’s like this weird mix of pity and contempt. And then she started dating Max. Max Kennedy, that’s all she talks about. And when they’re together, his hands are on her all the time. It makes me want to throw up.”
“Why does the fact that your sister found someone who loves her make you want to throw up?” I asked.
“Because she doesn’t deserve it! She doesn’t deserve him, the way he looks at her, like she can do no wrong… She does wrong all the time! Starting with the way she treats me.”
“Sounds like I’m walking into a very healthy family situation here.”
“Ha,” she scoffed. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Like a disclaimer on the questionnaire—someone who can comfortably withstand family pressure.” She chuckled ruefully.
“It’s okay.” I slid a hand across the seat, grasping her knee with a soft squeeze. “I get it. My brother is a dickhead.”
“A dickhead?” She laughed, covering her mouth as her cheeks turned a shade of red.
It was cute. Everything about her was captivatingly cute.
I wanted to fuck the cute right out of her.
“I can handle difficult family members just fine. You may want to worry about yourself.”
She shook her head, eyes averted to the road. My hand still rested on her knee and I’d keep it right there the whole damn time if she’d let me. “I’ll be fine. I’m always fine. No one ever asks how Bryn is, so I don’t speak up. Just do my time then walk away again. Makes it easier. My sister fights with everyone. I can’t even stand to hear her voice after an hour with her.”