Author: Roni Loren
“Pfft! I’m not getting any younger. No use burning daylight. So do you think you could make me look as sexy as that cherry pie?”
Evan pinched the bridge of her nose, Callie’s question only bringing the past farther to the front of her mind—the haunted eyes of the women who’d posed before her camera. The sick feeling that came along with knowing you were sacrificing someone else’s dignity to save your own ass. “I don’t really do that style of picture, Cal.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be a prude.”
She sighed. “It’s not about that. It’s just, are you really going to trust a guy you just started dating with half-naked pictures of yourself? What happens when—”
She held up a finger. “Nope. Don’t finish that sentence. I’m doing that whole putting positive energy into the universe thing. I’m not even considering that this guy isn’t going to work out. Now will you take photos for me or not?”
“Cal, I—”
Callie’s phone dinged and she checked the screen. Her smile turned florescent. “Oh, he’s so sweet.”
Evan hated that Callie already had that smitten-beyond-repair look. Even if this Brandon was a nice guy, giving your heart to anyone that easily had disaster written all over it. Evan had firsthand experience on that one.
“He’s waiting outside. Sorry to stop by and then run off,” Callie said. “But I only have a little while for lunch. We’re shorthanded so Jessica will probably go on strike if I’m not back by one to help her.”
“No problem,” Evan said, ready to get back to her own work anyway. “We’ll catch up next week.”
Callie pointed a finger at her and arched an eyebrow. “And you are so doing those photos for me. I’ll withhold petit fours otherwise.”
“Hateful bitch.”
She laughed. “Ta for now. Don’t work too hard.”
Yeah, right. That was exactly what Evan planned to do. Work so hard that she had no space left in her mind, her bed, or her heart for anything else.
FIVE
Jace straightened the display of erotic novels as his best friend, Reid, selected one of the paddles from the rack on the other side. Reid flipped it around in his hand, testing the weight and feel of it. He held it up to Jace. “Really?”
Jace shrugged, the sight of his suit-clad friend holding up a paddle with the words “bad girl” scrawled in pink a comical picture. “The newbies like that kind of thing. Makes ’em feel scandalous. It’s got great thud, though.”
Reid smacked it against his own thigh. Frowned. “Brynn needs more bite than that. Plus, she may laugh herself right out of the scene if she sees what’s on it.”
Jace grabbed a utilitarian black paddle with holes in it from the shelf. “Try this one. The holes lessen air resistance and give you more impact.”
Reid took it from him to examine it. He sliced it through the air, the whooshing sound making Jace’s skin itch. God, he loved that sound. Even better was the noise the sub made when it smacked against her bare skin.
“Mmm, better,” Reid agreed.
“So how is that beautiful blonde of yours? You haven’t brought her by in a while. Still afraid she’s going to realize the error of her ways and come sub for me instead?”
Reid shot him a deadly look. “Don’t make me test this paddle on your skull, smartass.”
Jace laughed. A more tactful friend probably wouldn’t make a point to remind Reid on a regular basis that Jace had shared Reid’s soon-to-be-wife with him one night. But Jace had never claimed to have tact. Plus, he’d never been able to resist getting his oh-so-calm friend ruffled.
“You don’t need to be worrying about my woman,” Reid said, tucking the paddle under his arm and moving on to the vibrator section of Jace’s store. “Worry about your own women. I ran into your mother the other day at the grocery store, and she said you never come when she invites you to family dinners. That ain’t right, man. I ended up agreeing to stop by for one because she looked so damn sad about it.”
Jace sighed. “Family dinners involve having conversation with my dad. And by conversation, I mean me listening to him talk about what a failure and a fuckup I am. They’ll probably appreciate your company more.”
“Look, your dad’s a dick, but you need to tough one out for your mom. She’s looking worn down with all this. Maybe having you there will give her a boost.”
Jace grimaced. He loved his mom and felt like a dirtbag for contributing at all to her being upset, but he hadn’t made it through a family meal since he opened up Wicked without having a knock-down, drag-out fight with his father. Seeing that wouldn’t do his mother any good. “I’ll try to make it over there for one.”
Reid nodded and turned down the next aisle. “So how’s business looking?”
Jace shrugged. “It’s been better. It’d help if I could get Diana to stop drawing alimony.”
“I petitioned the court to relieve you of that obligation. Diana’s still maintaining an apartment address, but I had that PI I know follow her for a couple of weeks. She’s living with Greg full time like you suspected.” Reid grabbed a few more items off the shelf. “It’s still a long shot.”
“Un-fucking-believable.” He’d already given her half of everything when they divorced and had paid a monthly stipend for two years. It’d been more than she deserved since she’d been the one to walk out on him. But he’d been so numb after she’d left that he’d just agreed to whatever instead of going through a nasty court battle.
Reid grabbed a G-spot stimulator and a pack of nipple clamps then handed all of the items to Jace. “I know, man. I’m doing the best I can. But it might be worth it to try and talk with her. Nicely. Appeal to her reasonable side.”
Jace scoffed as he walked to the front of the store and dumped Reid’s selections on the counter so his cashier could ring them up. “Diana doesn’t have a reasonable side.”
Reid tossed his credit card on the counter. “You better find one. Otherwise, she’s got a decent shot of syphoning more money from you.”
“Dammit. Isn’t there a point where I stop getting fucked over? You’ve barely lost a case in your life. Can’t we win?”
Reid frowned as he took his bag from the cashier. “Look, I’m going to do everything I can, but it hurts that you didn’t take her to task during the initial divorce. She doesn’t look like the bad guy in the court records.” He laid a hand on his shoulder. “Talk to her, Jace. And I’ll do what I can on my end.”
Jace walked Reid out then stalked into his office ready to breathe fire. Fucking Diana. Just what he needed. Hadn’t it been enough that she’d ripped his heart out and made him look like a goddamned fool? Now she wanted to suck his bank account dry, too?
Jace stared out the second-floor window and the darkened shops across the street. Wicked was one of the few stores open this late on a Thursday night. He’d landed a prime piece of real estate tucked between high-end clothing stores, a gourmet chocolate shop, and a salon. It was the perfect shopping spot for women and couples who may not feel comfortable venturing into the seedy part of town and going to a windowless dive with an Adult Videos sign flashing above.
But the tradeoff for having such a swank spot was that he also didn’t get the cheap and easy business—the guys just coming in to grab a porno or some skin mags. He didn’t sell either. Well, unless you counted some of the how-to videos they had in stock. So he had to count on the customers who weren’t afraid to spend decent money on quality products. And with the economy the way it was, those customers were getting fewer and farther between.
The money he hoped to get through the deal with Dr. Dan would allow him to beef up his stock and Internet presence and offer more variety in price point. But if Diana kept milking him for alimony, he was going to run out of capital before the Dr. Dan thing even bore fruit.
He flipped the blinds closed just as his office door opened. Andre stepped in and leaned against the doorjamb, looking every bit the pissed-off cop. “She’s a leech. Have I mentioned that?”
Jace snorted. “Guess you saw Reid.”
“What’s her deal? She’s had years to get on her feet. Feet that I’m sure get a weekly pedicure and massage using your money.”
Jace sank into his desk chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “This is the last thing I need. I’ve been crunching numbers all night. If it weren’t for my contract with The Ranch, I’d be in some serious shit right now. I was counting on freeing up the money I was paying her each month to put toward the website and building stock. Now I’ve gotta go play nice and hope she grants me mercy when all I really want to do is ring her neck. And Greg’s. What kind of asshole stands by and lets some other dude support the mother of his kid?”
Andre’s shoulder radio squawked, and he pressed the button to respond. He looked up when he was done. “Don’t go see her or Greg yet. You need to take a break and get away from that desk and those P&L statements. You go see them while you’re like this, and I’ll be arresting you for bodily assault.”
Jace grunted. He’d never lay a hand on a woman without her consent, but Greg was a whole different story. Bodily assault was starting to sound real tempting. Or maybe just massive intimidation and threats to relocate the guy’s nuts. Could he get arrested for that?
Andre’s frown deepened. “See, I can already see you contemplating maiming and dismembering.”
“Killjoy.”
Andre pushed off the doorframe. “Look, we both need to blow off steam. I’ve been busting my ass to get that promotion. They have me shadowing the detectives on this huge case and still covering my regular beat. I’ve switched from days to nights so many times these last two weeks, I don’t even know what time it is. Plus, you’ve been a miserable fuck since we got back from South Padre.”
“You know your lease is up this month, so you’re more than welcome to move somewhere else.”
Andre flipped him off. “All I’m saying is that we should go have some fun this weekend. Recharge.”
Jace perked up. A fun weekend?
Andre was right—that was exactly what he needed. Since they’d returned to Dallas, Jace had felt off, like he couldn’t quite get back into the groove. And it had nothing to do with Wicked’s bank account. The moment that had passed between him and Evan had replayed in his mind one too many times. And getting hard night after night thinking about a girl who was off limits was getting him nowhere. He knew just the kind of weekend he needed.
“Andre, I think that’s a genius plan.”
He grinned. “Of course it is. That’s the only kind of plan I come up with.”
Jace smirked. “I’ll deal with Diana next week. There’s no way I’m letting her earn any more money off my back. And I’ll figure out this mess with Wicked. I have some new radio and print ads going live this weekend, so maybe that will drum up some new business.”
“You could always ask your parents to release the rest of your trust fund. The money’s supposed to be yours.”
“I’d rather live in a box than give in and ask them for a penny of that damn money. That shit is so laced with strings, I might as well sign up to be a marionette.”
“Well, if they ever want to send any of it over my way, I’ll happily join the family financial business and toe the line. I’d at least get to sleep sometimes.”
Jace chucked a pen at Andre, who deftly ducked out of the way.
“Kidding.” Andre checked his watch, his break probably over. “I’ll set things up for the weekend. Any requests?”
“Pfft! I’m not getting any younger. No use burning daylight. So do you think you could make me look as sexy as that cherry pie?”
Evan pinched the bridge of her nose, Callie’s question only bringing the past farther to the front of her mind—the haunted eyes of the women who’d posed before her camera. The sick feeling that came along with knowing you were sacrificing someone else’s dignity to save your own ass. “I don’t really do that style of picture, Cal.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be a prude.”
She sighed. “It’s not about that. It’s just, are you really going to trust a guy you just started dating with half-naked pictures of yourself? What happens when—”
She held up a finger. “Nope. Don’t finish that sentence. I’m doing that whole putting positive energy into the universe thing. I’m not even considering that this guy isn’t going to work out. Now will you take photos for me or not?”
“Cal, I—”
Callie’s phone dinged and she checked the screen. Her smile turned florescent. “Oh, he’s so sweet.”
Evan hated that Callie already had that smitten-beyond-repair look. Even if this Brandon was a nice guy, giving your heart to anyone that easily had disaster written all over it. Evan had firsthand experience on that one.
“He’s waiting outside. Sorry to stop by and then run off,” Callie said. “But I only have a little while for lunch. We’re shorthanded so Jessica will probably go on strike if I’m not back by one to help her.”
“No problem,” Evan said, ready to get back to her own work anyway. “We’ll catch up next week.”
Callie pointed a finger at her and arched an eyebrow. “And you are so doing those photos for me. I’ll withhold petit fours otherwise.”
“Hateful bitch.”
She laughed. “Ta for now. Don’t work too hard.”
Yeah, right. That was exactly what Evan planned to do. Work so hard that she had no space left in her mind, her bed, or her heart for anything else.
FIVE
Jace straightened the display of erotic novels as his best friend, Reid, selected one of the paddles from the rack on the other side. Reid flipped it around in his hand, testing the weight and feel of it. He held it up to Jace. “Really?”
Jace shrugged, the sight of his suit-clad friend holding up a paddle with the words “bad girl” scrawled in pink a comical picture. “The newbies like that kind of thing. Makes ’em feel scandalous. It’s got great thud, though.”
Reid smacked it against his own thigh. Frowned. “Brynn needs more bite than that. Plus, she may laugh herself right out of the scene if she sees what’s on it.”
Jace grabbed a utilitarian black paddle with holes in it from the shelf. “Try this one. The holes lessen air resistance and give you more impact.”
Reid took it from him to examine it. He sliced it through the air, the whooshing sound making Jace’s skin itch. God, he loved that sound. Even better was the noise the sub made when it smacked against her bare skin.
“Mmm, better,” Reid agreed.
“So how is that beautiful blonde of yours? You haven’t brought her by in a while. Still afraid she’s going to realize the error of her ways and come sub for me instead?”
Reid shot him a deadly look. “Don’t make me test this paddle on your skull, smartass.”
Jace laughed. A more tactful friend probably wouldn’t make a point to remind Reid on a regular basis that Jace had shared Reid’s soon-to-be-wife with him one night. But Jace had never claimed to have tact. Plus, he’d never been able to resist getting his oh-so-calm friend ruffled.
“You don’t need to be worrying about my woman,” Reid said, tucking the paddle under his arm and moving on to the vibrator section of Jace’s store. “Worry about your own women. I ran into your mother the other day at the grocery store, and she said you never come when she invites you to family dinners. That ain’t right, man. I ended up agreeing to stop by for one because she looked so damn sad about it.”
Jace sighed. “Family dinners involve having conversation with my dad. And by conversation, I mean me listening to him talk about what a failure and a fuckup I am. They’ll probably appreciate your company more.”
“Look, your dad’s a dick, but you need to tough one out for your mom. She’s looking worn down with all this. Maybe having you there will give her a boost.”
Jace grimaced. He loved his mom and felt like a dirtbag for contributing at all to her being upset, but he hadn’t made it through a family meal since he opened up Wicked without having a knock-down, drag-out fight with his father. Seeing that wouldn’t do his mother any good. “I’ll try to make it over there for one.”
Reid nodded and turned down the next aisle. “So how’s business looking?”
Jace shrugged. “It’s been better. It’d help if I could get Diana to stop drawing alimony.”
“I petitioned the court to relieve you of that obligation. Diana’s still maintaining an apartment address, but I had that PI I know follow her for a couple of weeks. She’s living with Greg full time like you suspected.” Reid grabbed a few more items off the shelf. “It’s still a long shot.”
“Un-fucking-believable.” He’d already given her half of everything when they divorced and had paid a monthly stipend for two years. It’d been more than she deserved since she’d been the one to walk out on him. But he’d been so numb after she’d left that he’d just agreed to whatever instead of going through a nasty court battle.
Reid grabbed a G-spot stimulator and a pack of nipple clamps then handed all of the items to Jace. “I know, man. I’m doing the best I can. But it might be worth it to try and talk with her. Nicely. Appeal to her reasonable side.”
Jace scoffed as he walked to the front of the store and dumped Reid’s selections on the counter so his cashier could ring them up. “Diana doesn’t have a reasonable side.”
Reid tossed his credit card on the counter. “You better find one. Otherwise, she’s got a decent shot of syphoning more money from you.”
“Dammit. Isn’t there a point where I stop getting fucked over? You’ve barely lost a case in your life. Can’t we win?”
Reid frowned as he took his bag from the cashier. “Look, I’m going to do everything I can, but it hurts that you didn’t take her to task during the initial divorce. She doesn’t look like the bad guy in the court records.” He laid a hand on his shoulder. “Talk to her, Jace. And I’ll do what I can on my end.”
Jace walked Reid out then stalked into his office ready to breathe fire. Fucking Diana. Just what he needed. Hadn’t it been enough that she’d ripped his heart out and made him look like a goddamned fool? Now she wanted to suck his bank account dry, too?
Jace stared out the second-floor window and the darkened shops across the street. Wicked was one of the few stores open this late on a Thursday night. He’d landed a prime piece of real estate tucked between high-end clothing stores, a gourmet chocolate shop, and a salon. It was the perfect shopping spot for women and couples who may not feel comfortable venturing into the seedy part of town and going to a windowless dive with an Adult Videos sign flashing above.
But the tradeoff for having such a swank spot was that he also didn’t get the cheap and easy business—the guys just coming in to grab a porno or some skin mags. He didn’t sell either. Well, unless you counted some of the how-to videos they had in stock. So he had to count on the customers who weren’t afraid to spend decent money on quality products. And with the economy the way it was, those customers were getting fewer and farther between.
The money he hoped to get through the deal with Dr. Dan would allow him to beef up his stock and Internet presence and offer more variety in price point. But if Diana kept milking him for alimony, he was going to run out of capital before the Dr. Dan thing even bore fruit.
He flipped the blinds closed just as his office door opened. Andre stepped in and leaned against the doorjamb, looking every bit the pissed-off cop. “She’s a leech. Have I mentioned that?”
Jace snorted. “Guess you saw Reid.”
“What’s her deal? She’s had years to get on her feet. Feet that I’m sure get a weekly pedicure and massage using your money.”
Jace sank into his desk chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “This is the last thing I need. I’ve been crunching numbers all night. If it weren’t for my contract with The Ranch, I’d be in some serious shit right now. I was counting on freeing up the money I was paying her each month to put toward the website and building stock. Now I’ve gotta go play nice and hope she grants me mercy when all I really want to do is ring her neck. And Greg’s. What kind of asshole stands by and lets some other dude support the mother of his kid?”
Andre’s shoulder radio squawked, and he pressed the button to respond. He looked up when he was done. “Don’t go see her or Greg yet. You need to take a break and get away from that desk and those P&L statements. You go see them while you’re like this, and I’ll be arresting you for bodily assault.”
Jace grunted. He’d never lay a hand on a woman without her consent, but Greg was a whole different story. Bodily assault was starting to sound real tempting. Or maybe just massive intimidation and threats to relocate the guy’s nuts. Could he get arrested for that?
Andre’s frown deepened. “See, I can already see you contemplating maiming and dismembering.”
“Killjoy.”
Andre pushed off the doorframe. “Look, we both need to blow off steam. I’ve been busting my ass to get that promotion. They have me shadowing the detectives on this huge case and still covering my regular beat. I’ve switched from days to nights so many times these last two weeks, I don’t even know what time it is. Plus, you’ve been a miserable fuck since we got back from South Padre.”
“You know your lease is up this month, so you’re more than welcome to move somewhere else.”
Andre flipped him off. “All I’m saying is that we should go have some fun this weekend. Recharge.”
Jace perked up. A fun weekend?
Andre was right—that was exactly what he needed. Since they’d returned to Dallas, Jace had felt off, like he couldn’t quite get back into the groove. And it had nothing to do with Wicked’s bank account. The moment that had passed between him and Evan had replayed in his mind one too many times. And getting hard night after night thinking about a girl who was off limits was getting him nowhere. He knew just the kind of weekend he needed.
“Andre, I think that’s a genius plan.”
He grinned. “Of course it is. That’s the only kind of plan I come up with.”
Jace smirked. “I’ll deal with Diana next week. There’s no way I’m letting her earn any more money off my back. And I’ll figure out this mess with Wicked. I have some new radio and print ads going live this weekend, so maybe that will drum up some new business.”
“You could always ask your parents to release the rest of your trust fund. The money’s supposed to be yours.”
“I’d rather live in a box than give in and ask them for a penny of that damn money. That shit is so laced with strings, I might as well sign up to be a marionette.”
“Well, if they ever want to send any of it over my way, I’ll happily join the family financial business and toe the line. I’d at least get to sleep sometimes.”
Jace chucked a pen at Andre, who deftly ducked out of the way.
“Kidding.” Andre checked his watch, his break probably over. “I’ll set things up for the weekend. Any requests?”
