The Weekend Proposition - Ella Jade Page 0,40
at Cannon and Carrington.”
That’s my dream.
“Let me help you.”
“You don’t even know if I’m any good.” She laughed.
“I know you’re good.” He shot her his signature grin. The one that made her want to drop to her knees and take care of him.
“You’re so dirty.” She shoved his arm.
“You like it when I’m dirty.” He pulled her to him and nipped at her bottom lip. “And rough.”
“Hmm.” She closed her eyes and let him take control of the kiss. Before long his tongue explored her mouth and his hands played with the hem of her shirt.
“Let me take you away,” he mumbled against her mouth. “Let me show you things you’ve only dreamed of.”
“You already have.”
When Andrew pulled up in front of Coda’s house and stopped the car, her heart sped up. Somehow she’d managed to put the inevitable out of her head. The weekend was over but the conditions had changed, hadn’t they? He wanted to take her on vacation. Maybe he’d want to pursue something with her now that they were back in New York. Only one way to find out.
Ask him.
“Hey.” She turned in his arms. “I was wondering if—” She stopped when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a check.
“What were you wondering?” He stroked her cheek. “Did you pick a place? Where would you like to go?”
“What’s that?”
“This?” He waved the check in front of her. “It’s the other half of the money I owe you.”
“Oh.” Her smile faded.
“Don’t look so disappointed. It was part of the agreement. This is yours.” He handed it to her. “You earned it.”
“Right, I guess I did.” She removed her arms from him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” She took the check, feeling much more awkward than she had when she’d accepted the first payment. A few days ago their arrangement had been a business transaction, but now things were different. At least she thought they were. “We had a deal.”
“I wanted to give it to you earlier, but we had a hectic morning and then it didn’t feel right to bring it up during the car ride home.”
“Maybe there’s a reason it didn’t feel right.” She opened the door and climbed out of the car.
Andrew quickly got out but Spencer halted him with his hand. “Give us a minute, please.”
“Sure.” Andrew got back in the car.
“Dakota, wait.” He followed her up the porch steps that led to her apartment. “What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before turning to face him. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. I can see it in your expression. I hurt you and I didn’t mean to do that. What was I supposed to do? Forget about our agreement? Say nothing?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “We did a good job of forgetting about it the past two days. I guess I thought... Never mind.”
“What did you think?”
“I’m not sure.” She hadn’t realized she’d feel so cheap. “I thought I meant more to you than the money. I guess I was wrong.”
“What I feel for you has nothing to do with that money. We discussed this.” He paced the small porch, getting more agitated with each step. “I told you sex would complicate things.”
“You weren’t complaining when you took me to bed.”
Her defense mechanisms were up. Instincts always kicked in when she felt the need to protect herself. Her mother had been burned by her father. Coda knew how her mom felt about men. She’d grown up learning not to trust them. Spencer was different. He had to be.
“Why are you doing this? I thought we had separated the two.” He looked confused.
“Is it so easy for you?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, it is. I made a deal with you. I don’t take my contracts lightly. I’m a businessman. That’s what I do.”
“I’m more than some proposal.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” He yelled. “You fucking told me some nights you don’t have enough to eat. Do you think that sat well with me? Did you think I would ever let that happen again?”
“I’m not your responsibility. I’m not one of those charity auction recipients you seem to be so fond of.” She allowed her pride to get in the way. When he’d approached her with this proposition it seemed like a means to an end. Now that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“I don’t see you as a charity case.” He softened his tone. “I thought you understood.”
“You did a few days ago.” She tried to hold back the