Page 20 of Miss Christmas

Before she turned away, he saw her guilty look.

“I have Dee covering for me. I can’t ask her to stay all day.”

Dee. This he could handle. He couldn’t help his satisfied smile.

“Call Dee and tell her if she stays I’ll give her a thousand dollars.”

Scarlet’s eyes went wide, then her face went furious.

“You’re going to pay my friend a thousand dollars to cover for me? And you don’t think that’s going to make me feel like you paid to sleep with me? Like I’m some kind of high-end call girl?”

The first thing that popped into his head was that a thousand bucks was hardly high-end these days—more like ten thou, but he thought it best to keep that factoid to himself.

“You know it’s not like that. Then tell her I’ll give her—”

She reached a hand back and though he saw it coming, he was too sex-drunk and slow to stop her. She slapped his face and damn if it didn’t turn him on. He pulled her to him, toppling her over and then moving on top.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m seducing you. Can’t you tell?” His cock bounced, hardening all over again between them. He kept his eyes on hers, let whatever was inside him show, all the roiling emotions, need first, then desire, affection, admiration. There was more in him gathering intensity, but he stopped trying to figure it all out and just let himself feel, because the feeling was good—better than good. His chest warmed and tightened, his gut tumbled, and his head felt like he’d just drunk a half pint of good scotch. She was good for his soul.

Maybe she saw all that in him because her eyes softened and she reached a hand up to caress his face where she’d slapped him.

“I’m sorry I slapped you. It’s all red. Does it sting?”

“I can’t feel a thing. Except for my dick and your breasts against my chest.”

She laughed. “You deserved it, though. It’s not about money. Friends do favors for friends.”

“I know that. Did you know that rich guys sometimes want to help out starving actresses because they deserve it? Maybe sometimes they want to share some of the wealth with no strings and might need an excuse to do it.”

“Let me call Dee. I’ll see how it’s going for her, then decide.”

He grinned and then took her mouth in his, nibbling on her lower lip. They both knew that meant she’d capitulated and she was just trying to save face. Or at least that was the version he was going with. He was fully aware of his faulty male ego and how to keep it fed without being a prick.

He watched and listened to her make the call, enjoying her exchange with her BFF and was not successful in squelching a laugh when she promised Dee he’d give her a thousand dollars and a new dress of her choice from their designer fashion department.

When she ended the call, she plopped back into bed next to him and said, “Let’s order some food.”

* * *

As the late afternoon sun disappeared behind them in the gigantic window overlooking the city, she wiped her mouth with the napkin. Will stood on the other side of the kitchen counter from where she sat on a stool. It was as far apart as they’d been all day, making her want to reach out and touch his hand. But she restrained herself with determined force.

She had to maintain some kind of boundary, didn’t she? More like she had to reinstall the boundaries that had been torn down, leaving her more vulnerable than was smart to a man she’d only met a few days ago. It hardly seemed possible that they were strangers last week. But, in spite of everything they’d shared, could she really say she knew him?

“I have something for you,” he said. The words, even spoken in the offhand way he had, froze her. She would take no gift from him, no matter what.

He went to a pile of folders he had stacked in a corner and took the folder off the top.

“These are the papers you need to sign. For the pageant. It’s a contract.”

She exhaled and calmed her stupid, paranoid, cynical self.

“What does it say? Give me the short version.”

“It spells out what you need to do as a contestant, what you’ll need to do if—when you win.”

She rolled her eyes. “Does it say anywhere in there, Thou shalt not sleep with a Regal?”