Authors: Lynn LaFleur
“You realize I never wear anything like this,” Jade said. “My gowns are more—”
“Boring,” Breanna quickly supplied.
“Sedate. I represent the hospital, Bre. I have to look professional.”
“You look professional every day at work. This is a party. You’re allowed to let loose and be sexy.”
“I doubt if the board would approve of my having a good time if it means my nipples pop out of my bodice.”
Breanna swallowed her smile. Her mother had a quick wit and a terrific sense of humor. Any man would enjoy being with her because of her sparkling personality. Although with Jade’s looks and body, Breanna doubted if he would pass up the opportunity to be with her physically, too.
Including the escort.
Especially
the escort. Breanna had made sure of that.
Jade laid one hand over her stomach. “I swear there are five thousand butterflies in here.”
“I’ll get you a glass of tea.”
“Thanks, honey.”
Breanna left Jade in the bedroom while she walked to the kitchen. She thought back to earlier today and her conversation with Zachary Cooper. Wanting to be sure he knew exactly what she expected of him, she’d called Coopers’ Companions this morning and asked for Zach to call her cell. She’d been in the bookstore when he’d returned her call.
“Ms. Talmage, this is Zachary Cooper. How can I help you?”
Breanna shivered hearing that deep, sexy voice. Oh, yes, he would be perfect for her mother. “Thank you for calling me, Mr. Cooper.”
“Zach, please.”
“And I’m Breanna.” She stepped to a corner of the store for more privacy. “I wanted to make sure you understand about tonight.”
“I’m escorting your mother to the gala celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of North Texas Highland Hospital.”
“I’m not talking about the gala. I’m talking about
after
the gala.”
“I don’t understand.”
Breanna glanced around to be sure no one stood close enough to hear her. “I want my mother to have a good time tonight. That includes sex.”
He remained silent for several seconds. “Did your mother ask you to call me?”
“No. She’d shoot me if she knew I was doing this.”
“Ms. Talmage—Breanna—it is totally up to the woman if our evening ends with a more…intimate encounter. It isn’t Coopers’ Companions’ policy to come on to the woman we’re escorting.”
“But your dates do include sex. My girlfriend, the one who recommended you, said her date with you ended with sex.”
Intense, mind-blowing sex
. Breanna shivered again. She’d had sex, but never intense, mind-blowing sex. It sounded nummy.
“I’m not sure if this conversation is appropriate, Ms. Talmage.”
“No, it probably isn’t, but I’m concerned about my mother. I want her to feel…sexy and alive. I want
you
to make her feel that way.” She paused a moment as a customer walked past. “So, will your evening with my mother include sex?”
“Ms. Talmage, I am an escort, a companion. I am not a prostitute.”
“I didn’t say you are. But we’re both adults, Zach. Be honest with me. Many of your dates end with sex, don’t they?”
She heard him sigh. “If the lady requests it, yes. My job is to be attentive to my date, to show her she’s appreciated because she’s a woman.”
“What if she doesn’t request sex?”
“Then I say goodnight at her front door and go home.”
Breanna blew out a heavy breath. “My mother won’t request it. I want you to initiate sex.”
“I will not do anything to make your mother uncomfortable.”
She couldn’t let him slip away. Frantically thinking about a way to get through to him, she said the first thing that popped into her head. “I’ll give you more money—”
“Money is not the issue. I will escort your mother to the gala. I will be attentive and gracious to her. I will not initiate sex if she doesn’t want it.”
Well, shit. Now what?
“It’s been a long time for her. She hasn’t been intimate with anyone since she and my dad divorced almost two years ago. I know that for a fact because she told me so. My mother is a young, beautiful, sexy woman, Zach. She’s been alone much too long. I want her to feel desirable again.”
“I’m sorry. Unless your mother indicates she wants to be intimate with me, it won’t happen.”
“But if you get any kind of sign from her, any little thing, you’ll go for it?”
Zach chuckled. “You’re very persistent, Breanna.”
She took his chuckling as a good sign. “I’m a lot like my mother.”
When he didn’t say anything else, Breanna prompted him. “Any little sign, right?”
“Yes, any little sign.”
“All right!” If she wasn’t in a bookstore, she would’ve done a happy dance. “Show her a good time. And I mean a
really
good time. You’ll spend the night with her, right?”
“No. You won’t change my mind about that. We don’t spend the night with our dates. Ever.”
“But you can stay with her for a long time, right? I mean, the gala won’t even be over until probably midnight.”
“Staying late won’t be a problem.”
Breanna beamed. “Wonderful. Thank you, Zach.”
Yes, her mother would shoot her if she knew Breanna had called Zach. But she had to be sure that he paid extra special attention to Jade tonight.
She poured each of them a glass of iced tea and returned to the bedroom. She found her mother in the bathroom, putting the final touches on her hair. “Here, Mom.”
“Thanks, Bre.” Jade accepted the glass. She chugged down half the contents in one gulp.
“You really are nervous, aren’t you?”
“I’m going out with a man I don’t know, a man I’ve never even
seen
. I’ve never had a blind date. Of
course
I’m nervous.” She took another sip of tea before placing the glass on the counter. “What a stupid time for my brother to go on a fishing trip.”
“I think Uncle Paul purposely planned his trip when he did so he wouldn’t have to escort you. He hates wearing a tux.”
“‘Escort’. There’s that word again. Do you know
anything
about him, Bre?”
I know he’s going to give you the best sex of your life. No offense, Dad.
“Not a thing.” Picking up Jade’s brush, Breanna smoothed an errant curl by her mother’s left ear. “Stop worrying. Everything will be fine. The gala will go smoothly, and you’ll have a wonderful time.”
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made Breanna toss down the brush and jog to the window. She pulled apart two slats of the mini-blinds and peered outside. The sight made her gasp.
“What?” Jade asked anxiously.
“He’s driving a Lexus. What a sweet car.”
“Do you see him?”
“Not really. He’s… Wait, he’s getting out.” Breanna swallowed hard. Her knees trembled. Her knees
never
trembled at the sight of a handsome man. But rarely did she see a man so totally edible. “Oh my God. Mom, he’s
gorgeous
!”
Jade joined Breanna at the window. “He’s a
baby
!”
“Oooh,
baby
!”
“Breanna, I cannot go to the gala with a man that young. He can’t be more than twenty-five.”
“He’s thirty.”
Jade took Breanna’s arm and pulled her away from the window. “I thought you didn’t know anything about him.”
Oops. Watch it, Bre.
“I don’t, other than his age. But what difference does that make?”
“I do not want to go out with a man ten years younger!”
The doorbell rang. “It’s too late to back out now, Mom.”
Jade huffed out a breath. Her eyes narrowed. “I
am
going to spank you for this.”
She turned as if to leave the room. Breanna quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Uh-uh. I’ll answer the door. You need to make an entrance.”
“An entrance?”
“Yeah. Wait two minutes.”
Breanna hurried from the bathroom while her mom hissed at her to come back. She wanted Zach to watch her mother walk down the hall. She wanted him to see the gentle jiggle of Jade’s breasts above her bodice and realize that beautiful woman would be in his arms tonight.
Besides, she wanted a close-up view of him first.
She opened the front door as the chimes sounded a second time. Her mouth would’ve dropped open if she hadn’t caught it in time. She didn’t know if Zachary Cooper was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, but he had to be in the top ten.
The top five.
Tall, at least six-one. Medium brown, shoulder-length hair with a hint of curl. Impossibly broad shoulders. Wide chest. Flat stomach. Husky thighs. A nice bulge between those thighs.
A
very
nice bulge.
Breanna sighed silently. Oh, yes, he would do quite nicely.
“Hi,” Breanna said when she managed to find her voice again.
He smiled. “Good evening.”
“Come in, please. I’m Breanna. My mom will be ready in a minute.”
She shut the door behind Zach. When she faced him again, he took her hand, lifted it to his mouth, and placed a soft kiss on the back.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Breanna.”
Her breath hitched. “Oh, you’re good,” she whispered.
“I know,” he whispered back with a grin.
He straightened and released her hand. She saw his gaze flick past her shoulder. The amusement in his expression quickly faded, to be replaced with an emotion she’d call awe.
Which quickly turned into downright lust.
Breanna turned and watched her mother gliding toward them. That’s the best word she could think of to describe the way Jade moved…almost as if her feet didn’t touch the floor. Tears filled her eyes. She was so proud of her stunning mother.
“Good evening,” Jade said softly once she stood before Zach.
He cleared his throat. “Good evening. I’m Zachary Taylor, your escort for tonight.” He held out a single white rose to her.
She gave him a small smile. “Jade Talmage.” She held out her free hand to him. Instead of shaking it, he took it in both of his and lifted it to his mouth. He kissed the back, then her palm.
Breanna sighed. How romantic.
When neither of them moved for a full fifteen seconds, Breanna clasped their arms and ushered them toward the door. “You two have a good time. Mom, I’ll lock up and put the rose in water. Zach, nice to meet you. Bye.”
She plucked the rose from Jade’s fingers and practically slammed the door in their faces. Grinning, she headed back down the hall to Jade’s bedroom. She had a few more items hidden in her bookstore bag that she planned to leave for her mother to find…items to make the evening even hotter.
Chapter Four
Zach had forgotten to breathe when he saw Jade walk down the hall toward him. He’d seen hundreds of beautiful women. He’d been intimate with dozens. Why one woman would affect him so strongly, he didn’t know.
He had to find out.
Placing his hand lightly on Jade’s lower back, he steered her toward the passenger side of his car. “You look beautiful, Jade.”
“Thank you.”
That voice. Soft, sensual, made to stir a man’s desires with nothing more than a whisper.
He imagined that voice begging him to fuck her as he pounded his cock into her tight, wet pussy.
Opening the door, he held her hand as she slid onto the seat. The slit in her dress blessed him with a glimpse of her right leg to just above her knee before she quickly closed it. He saw a shapely leg covered by a silky stocking. Somehow, he knew she wasn’t wearing pantyhose. Perhaps a garter belt, or those lace-topped, thigh-high stockings that stayed up by themselves.