Red Collar (10 page)

She wrapped her hands around his hips.

“You smell so fresh,” she said, breathing the soft flesh of his neck.

He gave her a small smile. “Is that what you wore when you fled from me yesterday?”

Her cheeks colored. “I hope you don’t mind. I had every intention of returning it but I can’t find my tee.”

He combed her hair, cupping her face. “Your despicable tee has been chucked down the garbage chute and must be now on its way to the dump.”

“What?” she took a step back, astounded. Her lips curved up and let out a giggle. “Why do I keep losing all my clothes around you?” She moved her hands under his shirt seductively. “It is becoming an expensive habit, Clayton and I will have you compensate for them,” she teased.

He smiled at her. “And I will. Just let me know your price and I will leave it on the dresser.”

She pulled back in shock, tears welling in her eyes. “Clayton, I didn’t mean it like that.”

He had loved the way she felt against him
and he immediately regretted his snide remark. Maybe, he should have held back just a little more, just until he had fulfilled his desire for her. But then he reflected on her earlier conversation to her partner and the loving way in which she had addressed him. She never had that glint in her face when she spoke to him. It was obvious who she loved. Is that why she never kissed him? He couldn’t believe he still craved for the moistness of her tongue, to plunge his own into the depths of her mouth, to caress and wound her lips.

He tensed when he thought of
the tender way in which she had spoken to her child. Her eyes had sparkled, her voice softened remarkably, compelling a wave of tidal emotions surge through his nerves. She loved her child, he knew that.

She was a woman and a mother. And suddenly he wanted that. All of that.

He swiveled away from her. She was a witch, enchanting him to do as she pleased, defiling his beliefs, wavering his principles.

“Now for business,” he stated, sternly.

“Business?” she repeated, uncertainly.

“You’ve forgotten why you’re here. Fine prints, remember.”

She stood in utter silence, watching him.

He continued. “Like I said you shall be my mistress as contracted. But I can see you’re not inclined to continue as one and I have no wish to force you into it. In light of this, I will contract your services for a further six days as I have yet to devour you completely to my satisfaction. I suppose six days would be enough to fulfill that. I wo
uld needlessly have you wandering in limbo after that. I can’t imagine wanting the same woman for such a lengthy time. I agree I must have been out of my mind when I contracted you for an indefinite period. But you are such a beauty, the fault isn’t mine entirely.” He gave her a mocking grin. “I need to head over to Sitka, Alaska to take care of some personal matters. I expect you to accompany me. I’m kind of in short notice for a female escort. And since I’ve hired you, why not make the best use of the service? We fly out tomorrow. Are there any questions?”

She was quiet, frozen at her feet.

“Do you need to arrange anything before we leave?” he asked, watching her carefully, waiting for her to explain her home circumstances. She said nothing.

“None?” he asked again. “So I believe you’re okay to stay the night here. I will arrange for your wardrobe as your choices have been proven to be quite inappropriately unconventional. My poor mother would have a proper f
it if she had seen what you had opted to wear to an executive meeting. And that tee shirt from last night…enough said.”

She lifted her chin, staunchly at him. “No.”

“No?” He raised an eyebrow.

“
No, I will not go anywhere with you until you agree to my terms.”

He leant against a couch. “Okay, spill then.”

“I want an upfront payment of six hundred thousand in my account by the end of the day. Until you pay me, I’m not going anywhere. I will go home and once you’ve notified me that the money has been deposited, only then will I return to you tomorrow.”

He clenched his jaw, a muscle moved in his temples. It was always about the money. How could he have forgotten that in all his lust for her?

“That’s quite a sum for six days,” he raised his eyes at her. They had turned molten from his inner suppressed rage.

“A hundred thousand a day,” she remarked carelessly. “I am a highly recommended escort after all. It’s okay if you can’t. I understand. There is always another to meet the demand.”

He tucked his hands in his pockets to hide his tightly, balled fists. He wanted to shake her, choke her with his hands until she begged to be his alone. Only then he would be satisfied to leave her, crumpled and shattered in her sorrows.

“I’ll have it arranged,” he said, instead. “But I’ll do even better. I’ll give you another hundred thousand at the end of the contract if you perform to my standards. Anything else?”

She shook her head.

“Very well,” he said, coldly. “I will see you here tomorrow morning. We leave at ten. Like I said, if you run, I will hunt you down and you
will
pay for it.”

He turned away to head back into the privacy of his penthouse. “You know the way out. And keep the shirt. Consider it part of the package.”

Her return home was worse than it was last morning. She quivered as she walked. Her hurt suppressed inside of her as she tried to restrain them from escaping her eyes.

All those sweet words Clayton had uttered to her were said in a fever of lu
st. She should never have expected anything more of it. Clayton had always seen her as a whore and this morning, treated her as one. She couldn’t blame him. She was hired in that capacity. It was she who had forgotten why she was in the company of a wealthy man such as Clayton Reid.

She was glad though that soon it would be over. In six days, she would no longer have to see Clayton. She could put him in her past and never make mention of him again. She contracted to be his escort for one reason only- to s
urvive the financial pressures inflicted upon her family. And now she could finally manage them. It was obvious yesterday that her mother was in dire need of a liver transplant.  Six hundred thousand was sufficient to carry out the transplant and the medication and care that followed it.

She trembled as she reached the door of her apartment building. She had not known how she had made it home. She was so caught up in her emotions and her
thoughts; she must have walked home in a trance.

“
Bella dama?
” she heard his voice.

Lorenzo. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
She had not known that he had been following her for a while.

“You okay,
bella
?” he asked, worriedly.

Her tears poured out of her eyes, her body quavered with her pain.

He leant forward to steady her and she fell against his chest, crying uncontrollably.

He stood there, his arms around her, allowing her to liberate her heartache in his strong embrace.

*****

They sat silently on a bench in their
building courtyard. She didn’t know how long she had sat there. She didn’t even know how they had got there. But Lorenzo had sat by her all those hours so patiently, leaving her amazed and gratefully steering her away from her thoughts of Clayton.

Children played about them in
the rustic swings and playground gym. She watched his eyes light, the corners of his mouth lift as he continued to observe the little tots run in and about the gym, in their high-pitched chatter. He was like an angel, being there for her whenever she needed him most. She touched his arm gently with her fingertips to see if he was real.

He turned his head and smiled. “How are you feeling now,
bella
dama
?”

She tilted her head at him and smiled. “Much better.”

“Is it the
pendejo
again?”

She nodded.

He frowned. “Do you want me to give him a message? To leave you alone?”

She looked at him with a sparkle in her eye. “And how is it that you will give
him this message?”

He flexed his arms, displaying his well-toned biceps and triceps. “I have my ways.”

She burst into a laugh.

He seemed hurt and stood
abruptly before her. “You think I can’t do it? Go on, feel these abs,” he commanded, pointing at his sides. “They’re the best abdominal muscles in the entire building,
bella
dama
. I work on it every morning and evening.”

She let out another roar of laughter. “I believe you, Lorenzo. I don
‎
’t have to touch it, do I? You might be encouraged to drop down to your boxers to give me a private bodybuilding show.”

Lorenzo grinned. “I could do that.
Anything to see that smile,
bella
dama.
”

She shook her head in wonder. “Spare me, Lorenzo. I think I
’m much better now. The very thought of you parading in just your underpants has cured me of anymore pain.”

He sat back with a sad thump beside her, his eyes back on the children playing.

He was certainly quite lean and muscular, she noticed. Not at all bulky like those body building contestants she saw on TV. He was in perfect proportion, built with tenacity and power. She imagined him standing up to Clayton. He was almost as tall as him and despite his young years, she truly believed he would be able to give as much as he would get if they ever did get involved in a scuffle over her. Although, knowing Clayton, he might probably pay his way out of the fight first, in fear of getting his suit soiled.

He turned to her suddenly, his face glimmering with a sudden spurt of an idea. “Come on,” he said, pulling onto her arm.

“What?” she said, slightly bewildered by his enthusiasm. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he replied, winking at her. “Trust me.”

And she didn’t understand why, but she did. She followed after him in quick steps to match his long strides, as they headed back into the city.

They walked a while. Kate didn’t mind it at all. She found that just walking alongside Lorenzo was quite assuaging on her mind, placating her pain. Somehow his presence and that he often turned around to check if she was still at his side, made her feel stronger and more resolute to face the six days she would be spending with Clayton.

“Here,” he pointed excitedly to the store.

She laughed.
Dino’s Gelato
, she read the pink neon lit sign. “What are we doing here?”

“Ice-cream,” he said. “
Hard ice-cream, soft ice-cream, French ice-cream, ice-cream on a cone or in a tub. Whatever it is, it is the perfect cure for a broken heart,
bella
dama
.”

“Right,” she chuckled, nodding her head. “And you know this because you have five sisters?”

“Si, senorita
,” he grinned. “You can’t fight experience.”

Twenty minutes later, they were strolling through the park, burrowing eagerly into their tubs of cold, delightful ice-cream. Lorenzo ravished his cioccolato scuro gelato in no time. He was the first man who she had seen devour chocolate delightfully. She had otherwise, always associated the dark divine delish to the whims and craves of women, particularly on those trying times of their month.

She still had a long way to go with her tub of crumbled sundae.

“I’m sorry you had to pay for this,” she said, indicating at her sundae. “You already put up so long with me; you didn’t need to buy me ice-cream. And a
Dino’s
does not come cheap too.”

“Don’t worry about it,
bella
dama
,” he shrugged. “I’ve been hankering to eat a
Dino’s Gelato
for such a long time and you were the perfect excuse.
Dino’s
ice-cream is like the best ice-cream in the world.”

She grinned. “It’s not like you’ve the seen the world yet. There may be better ice-creams out there, you know.”

“ Maybe. But for now,
Dino’s
is the best ice-cream in the world,” he repeated with more fervor than before.

She gave him a wide smile, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Just do it,
bella
dama
,” he said, flatly. “If you hold it too long like that, you’d faint from a gas build-up.”

She threw her head back and laughed her heart out.

He watched her, amusedly.

She looked at him. Her tears of joy was clouding her vision and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “Thank you, Lorenzo.”

“For what?” he asked, puzzled.

“For being here for me. F
or this walk, this ice-cream,” she said. “It must have dug a hole in your wallet. I’ll pay you back, I promise.”