Exclusive Contract (4 page)

I trailed off, suddenly feeling very shabby and silly, but Carter just shrugged. “Okay, thanks Mrs. Girlfriend. I'll see you at home.” He smiled. “In fact, I'll give you the grand tour.”

I smiled back. “Thanks.”

“Right, lates,” he said, and disappeared below the lip of the loft and within seconds I heard the door open and close as he left. And then Kent and I were alone. Without meaning to, I looked at him and our eyes locked.

My whole body vibrated with his nearness. He knelt on the floor next to me, and I had a sudden vision of him leaping across the space between us, his lips crashing into mine, his hard, seeking hands invading every inch of my body, whether I wanted them or not... and of course I wanted them. I thought of his rough, calloused fingers moving inside my pussy and a wave of dizziness swept over me.

His eyes burned. He had eyes that
burned,
cold blue-green fire.

I half expected him to reach for me—after all, there was a mattress not ten feet away. A really gross mattress, and we'd make it grosser, but that didn't matter. I wanted to hold his cock in my hand and see his blue-green eyes slide closed as I stroked him into a frenzy—

In the column of his throat, his Adam's apple bobbed and his eyes suddenly snapped shut as he whipped away from me and moved to the ladder. “Let's go,” he said. “Your shit isn't going to pack itself.”

The heady air of possibility dissipated and I had to take a deep breath before I replied. “Right,” I said, my voice only shaking slightly. “Let's get going.” And I followed him down the ladder, hoping he was watching my ass as I came down, but when I reached the bottom I found he had picked up my bag and was holding it out to me, the straps clutched in his hand in such a way that I could take it from him without touching him.

Licking my lips, I grabbed it, keeping my distance, and, without a word, we left together.

W
e rode to my sister's apartment in silence, and I had no idea what to expect when we got there. The bluetooth kept ringing, first showing up Sonya's name on the dash display, and then Manny. Then Sonya again, and Sonya again, and then several names that I didn't recognize, and with each one Kent wound up tighter and tighter.

He drove the car like a man who had a death wish, and with each rev of the engine I became more and more attuned to his mood and body. His hands on the steering wheel, his glowering blue-green eyes studying the road ahead, his thighs tightening and relaxing inside his suit pants...

It was weird, but I hadn't yet seen him out of a suit.
What kind of rock god wears suit pants as his regular attire?
I had to wonder, but it didn't matter. All I could think about was how much I wanted him to take those pants off.

I was going crazy. I'd never—ever—been so nuts about fucking a guy before. My hands fiddled with the door, brushing against the window controls on my side. There were small bits of
something
stuck in the small gaps between the controls and the armrest, and I started to pick at them with my thumbnail, gently prying them out of their home and letting them fall to the carpet where they would be easier to vacuum up later.

Not that I'd been hired to be the maid of the house. But, I mean, you might as well do what you can when the opportunity presents itself.

“You fidget a lot.”

Kent's dark voice cut through my reverie—again. I looked up. He was watching the road, gunning the engine as he wove in and out of traffic while his jaw clenched tighter with each call that came buzzing through. He cut off each one as soon as he read the name, and I could feel him working himself into a towering rage.

Thank god we were nearing Rose's apartment. He'd calm down once we got out. Maybe.

As for myself, I was starting to realize that yes, this was very real. I was about to pack my things for the second time in as many weeks and move to completely different circumstances. The thought scared me a little, but also thrilled me. Leaving it all behind... that's what I'd wanted to do when I left San Diego. And now I was
doing
it.

“Stop picking at my car.”

I started and realized I'd been excavating crumbs from the door handle again. “Sorry,” I said.

He just grunted. “What's got
you
all worked up?” he demanded, as if no one except for Kent Hudson could have a problem that was bothering them.

For a brief moment I thought about telling Kent that I was just nervous about the job, but for some reason I told him the truth. “I'm a little nervous,” I said. “I'm starting a whole new life for the second time this month.”

His brows rose at that as he cut off a semi and zipped us onto the off-ramp. “Oh?” he said. “That's right, you said you hadn't been in LA very long.”

“Like a week,” I said. “It's hard to get an apartment in the middle of the month. No one's lease is up.”

“There are always rooms for rent.”

“Not any rooms Rose would let me rent. All the places I could afford are in really bad neighborhoods. Actually, forget I said that. I don't have any money, so all the places I could afford would cost me a knife fight with a hobo for rights to claim a bridge.

Kent snorted at that. “You'd have a hell of a time living under a bridge,” he said.

“Well,
duh.”

His mouth quirked, very slightly. “I mean, how would you keep it clean?”

My eyes widened. A glimmer of humor? From
Kent Hudson?
Manny's joint must have made the rounds.

I sniffed at him. “I'd find a way. Bleach does wonders.”

He shook his head as he turned off onto the major street that ran past Rose's apartment building. “Rebecca,” he said, “don't you think that bleaching your bridge spot might be a bit counterproductive? Wouldn't it burn your lungs out while you slept?”

I crossed my arms. “Better than sleeping in bird shit,” I said.

He actually laughed. “Whatever floats your boat.” We reached Rose's apartment complex, and he wheeled the car wildly through the parking lot as I gave him directions to her building. By the time Kent parked and I got out my knees were shaking, and not just from unbridled lust and pre-orgasmic tremors caused by a car so sexy I could suddenly understand those internet weirdos who marry inanimate objects, like their blenders or a highway overpass.

Once I got out of the car, however, I realized I was
very
nervous. I lifted my chin and tried not to show it. “This way,” I said, and led him to one of the ground floor units. Pulling out the spare key Rose had given me, I opened the door.

“Hello?” I called into the empty apartment. It was a courtesy, nothing more. Rose worked late every day of the week, and on the weekends. I'm pretty sure some days she didn't even sleep. I honestly didn't know how she did it. Just thinking about it exhausted me.

So, as always, there was no answer. I opened the door wide and stepped inside, flipping on the lights.

Kent entered behind me, so I was able to hear the low whistle that escaped from between his lips. “Wow,” he said, looking around.

“Wow what?” I asked him as I trudged over to the couch where my meager worldly possessions sat. Half of them were still in their original garbage bags. Just the two. I didn't have a third hand to help me when I'd hauled them up here.

“I'm just impressed at how clean this place is,” he said. “I thought Rose worked full time. Is this your doing?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it wasn't in the best shape when I got here a week ago, but it wasn't too bad. You know, since she's a lawyer she works all the time. She's never here.” I started gathering my precisely folded dirty clothes and stuffing them back into their bags. There was really no point in separating them out—I'd worn most of the clothes I already owned and I didn't have any coins for the laundry and I really didn't feel comfortable asking Rose for anything else.

“Mm,” he said. “I work all the time and my place is a pit.”

I stuffed my laptop and power cord in between a couple of soft shirts. “That's because you have better things to do than clean,” I told him. I had hobbies once, but most hobbies require resources.

“I don't know,” he said. “Most of the stuff I do feels pretty pointless, honestly.”

I looked up, surprised. He was so tall, especially from my spot here on the floor next to the couch. He loomed in the dim twilight—I hadn't realized it was so late. The worn carpet under my hands made me think of rug burn and all the delicious ways one could get it.

Licking my lips I turned back to my task, standing up and surveying the apartment to see if I'd left anything.

I suddenly, horribly, realized how much I had lost in the past few years. I had no books and no movies with me—some of them were digital, sure, but well-worn copies of favorite books and old DVDs that had been given to me as gifts by well-meaning relatives who snapped up the fullscreen editions of everything—those were all gone now. I'd sold them off dozens at a time for money. Food, rent, my boyfriend's weed and MDMA habits... all of that gone down the drain. I'd spent some of it too, on alcohol, before I'd realized I was heading down the path of the barflys in the bars I tended.

Even when I'd finally landed a good job at a trendy bar, somehow all my money still managed to be eaten up and sucked down the drain. There was never enough to go around. I'd been struggling for years, I realized, bits of me falling away until my entire life could fit into two trash bags. I hadn't even left much behind when I left, and I'd been too upset to realize how little I actually had at the time.

Shit
, I thought.

Lost, I cast about the room, staring at the clean surfaces, the well-polished woods and the cleaned baseboards. I'd even scrubbed the walls down and cleaned the cabinets, but other than that I'd left nothing behind except the absence of dirt and filth.

"I... I don't think I have anything else to get," I said after a moment.

Kent made a noise that I couldn't really place. "Not even a toothbrush?" he asked me incredulously.

I snapped my fingers. Of course, the bathroom. "Thanks," I said. "I'll go through there, too..." I felt stupid even having to be reminded.

I turned my back on him, unable to look this rich, successful man in the eye. He was only a few years older than me and he had somehow clawed his way to the top. I didn't even know which way the mountain was. I was the biggest loser in the universe compared to him, and he knew it. Maybe that was why he liked to put his hands on me—he knew I'd be easy prey. A young woman with nothing could be swept off her feet easily.

The thought made me ashamed, and yet I knew if he approached me again I would open my legs up and just go to town on whatever part of his body he wanted to stick into me.

I walked briskly away from him as his phone rang for the fiftieth time. The bathroom was through Rose's bedroom, and I practically ran the last few feet to the door so I wouldn't look at the bed by accident, as though it had some sort of magical power.

Once inside the bathroom I grabbed my toothbrush, which was brand new and had the name of Rose's dentist on it. A free toothbrush, in other words, just like the last free toothbrush she'd given me, which I'd used to scrub the grout. I probably needed to take better care of my toothbrushes.

Looking around Rose's now-meticulous bathroom, I realized I'd almost forgot my make up. That would have been a disaster. I'd never be able to go out in public wearing no make up and still convince people that I was Carter Hudson's girlfriend. Frankly, I wasn't sure how I was going to do that now. I still didn't look anything like the other women who had applied for the position. Maybe Kent just liked his women dumpy.

The thought was so depressing for the both of us that I almost cried. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I grabbed the few pieces I had, all acquired at the drug store. Pressed powder, mascara, eyeliner, a small shadow trio, and my lipstick was in my bag. All that was left was my razor.

Turning toward the bathtub, I leaned in and grabbed my little pink disposable razor from the side. I'd probably have to think about getting another one soon, if I could afford it...

It hit me then: I was going to be able to afford it! The thought almost made me laugh, that I should get so excited about being able to buy a new razor without having to worry about the few bucks it would set me back, but there it was.

Still, I was going to have to wait until my first paycheck. No big. It would last until then. I turned, ready to go out to the living room.

Kent stood in the doorway, one elbow casually propped on the frame above his head, watching me.

I ground to a halt, nearly dropping my things. "Holy shit!" I said. "You scared me." I tried not to look at the way his shirt pulled tight across his rock hard abs.

He shrugged, glancing around the bathroom, as if to say he didn't care. He probably didn't. I scowled at him. "I don't need help getting a toothbrush, you know," I told him as haughtily as I could manage.

His blue-green eyes pinned me. "I needed to use the facilities, as they say."

"Oh." I blushed red hot, my ears burning. Of course. "Sorry," I said. "I'll just, uh, get out of your way..."

I waited for him to move aside so I could squeeze past him, but he was completely still. He didn't move a muscle. "Is this really all you have, Rebecca?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I travel light. You know, like a monk. Very few worldly possessions and all that." I hoped I didn't sound as pathetic as I felt, but judging by his face, he didn't believe me.

"If you want to send for your things in... where was it you lived?"

"San Diego."

"San Diego. If you want to send for the things you left in San Diego, we can do that."

God, this was embarrassing. "I didn't leave anything in San Diego," I said. "This is it."

The expression on his face was almost comical. "Are you serious?" he asked me.

Giving him a cranky look, I nodded. "Yes, of course I'm serious," I said. "Who would joke about being so dirt poor they had to get a free toothbrush from their sister?"

His mouth quirked. "I didn't know that you had to get a free toothbrush from your sister," he said.

I didn't feel like discussing this with him. "Would you move? I'm not going to stand in here while you... do your business or whatever. Use the facilities.

"I lied," he said suddenly. "I don't have to use the facilities."

I shifted on my feet. "Um. Then why are you back here?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to eat you out," he said.

My whole brain shut down. My hands went limp. My meager possessions fell to the floor.

"What?" I said stupidly.

A smooth, wicked smile sliced across his face. "You get your tension out by cleaning, and you did an admirable job of the loft. I thought we would have to burn the building down to get that place tidied up. And I get my tension out by fucking. I believe we already discussed this. And there is nothing more stressful to me than having to deal with the rest of the band. The music is fine. The rest of it is not so fine.”

I blinked at him. “What?” I said again.

He shook his head. “Manny seems to think you're a prime candidate for smoking out with him, and Sonya wants to draw and quarter you because I made an exception for your presence at rehearsal. She nearly bit my head off after rehearsal and left in a huff. She'll be calling me up, drunk, in about five hours, just as I'm getting ready to go to sleep.”

“That wouldn't have happened if you'd told them I'm an employee,” I felt compelled to point out. That still confused me.

He waved his hand. “I have my reasons. And Carter..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "He said he was going home. I'll know if he was telling the truth soon enough."

He opened his eyes again, raking his gaze up and down my body before coming to rest on my crotch. "Quite simply," he said, "I'd like to lick your cunt. I'd like to hear you scream my name."

The world seemed to sway. "Don't... don't you have groupies for that sort of thing?" I asked breathlessly.