Bane (7 page)

I was wrecked inside. Torn. Not knowing if I would follow the path of self-preservation or sacrifice.

Click.

My head shot toward the door and I drew the robe tighter around me. The modest lingerie felt like I wore nothing. The door opened and I knew I couldn’t do this. My heart went to my throat and I wanted to throw up. There was no way I could do this. I’d have to figure out another way to get the money. There had to be another way.

Standing, I wrapped my arms around myself. Whoever came through those doors, I would let them know I changed my mind.

I couldn’t do this.

To my surprise, the gorgeous man from Discrete Encounters walked in. An involuntary shudder ran through my body like before. On a molecular level, my body was driven toward him, but I remained in place. He was gorgeous with the bad boy edge, his bald head and muscular body.

With the same dark and brooding attitude, the nameless man locked his dark eyes on me and a shiver ran up my spine, which was the same reaction I had yesterday. We’d been so close in the break room and I couldn’t help the flirty side that came out, never thinking he’d be the one paying for sex with me.

The man took a step farther in the room, letting the door shut behind him. Knots laid heavy in my stomach as I took a step back, intimidation filling me. What did this man want with me?

There was no doubt he could have his pick of women if he wanted, yet he used basically a prostitution business in disguise. Regardless, I still needed to leave. I couldn’t be paid for sex. If only we’d met outside of Discrete Encounters.

“Maren.” That deep voice had so much authority laced within it.

I took another step back, fighting my response to get closer. “There’s been a misunderstanding. I can’t perform the service you paid for. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“Talking?”

What? Talking? Is he serious?

I was stunned into silence. Under his intense gaze, I felt urged to begin speaking. “I-I-I thought you wanted sex?”

Taking a seat, he watched my every move. He gave a slight shake of his head. “I don’t pay for my fucks. If you want to leave you can.”

Was he serious? All he wanted to do was talk. Hesitantly, I sat on the green bedspread that was adjacent to the cream-colored couch.

“You only want to talk?”

“Yes.”

I watched him closely to see if there was any hint of a lie. There didn’t seem to be. Talking for money. For some reason, that still made me feel cheap. Maybe if I was dressed more appropriately, I’d feel less vulnerable. “Can I change first?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and silently went to the bathroom. This was the strangest situation I’d ever found myself in. What was wrong with him if he paid girls to simply talk to him? My heart hammered in my chest like a freight train. That voice. It was deep and vibrated something on the molecular level within me. Attraction was not an issue, but trepidation overtook my thoughts. Changing out the silk lingerie, I put on my jeans and pale-yellow sweater.

Creaking the door open, the man still sat on the couch. His gaze trained on me. I smoothed my hands down the front of my jeans.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, the man kept staring at me. He was a man of few words and gave me the urge to fill the silence. “I don’t think I know your name.”

“Bane Bradley.”

If I was going to stay, I needed more. “Why did you pay to talk to me?”

He shrugged while running his hand over his bald head, dark eyes watching me. “I’m not sure. Jewel, the owner, asked if I wanted some company and I said your name.”

“Why?”

“I find you intriguing. I wasn’t busy. So, I figured why the hell not.”

I shook my head. “You don’t give much away, Bane.”

“I could say the same about you.” A smirk appeared as I crinkled my brow. There was no way I wanted to delve into my issues. Trust me, I knew how it looked with helping Frankie and I loathed myself for feeling like I had to. Needing a subject change, I asked, “Would you like a drink?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Bane seemed tense as he responded, “Bourbon.”

This would give me something to do while I kept trying to process everything. Standing up, I took in an imperceptible steady breath as I made my way to the black granite bar across the room. The ice bucket was filled. Quickly, I made the drink and grabbed myself a bottle of water from the mini bar.

My fingers flexed before I grabbed Bane’s drink, trying to squelch the nerves. Bane’s gaze never faltered off me as I came back to him. The way he appreciatively took me in, I had the impression he was as attracted to me as I was him—at least for some reason I hoped that was the case. But, I was probably reading everything wrong. The situation was confusing. After handing him the drink, I took a seat on the far end of the couch.

He tipped the glass to me. “Thank you. Have you decided if you’re leaving or staying? Regardless, you’ll be paid.”

“Staying. I’m staying. No sex.”

“No sex.”

I believed him, but it didn’t keep the thoughts of what it would feel like if he touched me. Nervously, I rubbed my hands together while I cleared my mind of all the thoughts my mind conjured of what Bane looked like without clothes.

This was crazy.

I am crazy.

More silence resumed. Bane took appreciative sips of his bourbon. Unscrewing and re-screwing the lid on the bottled water, I watched him, hoping to piece this together. Bane was in complete control of his emotions and actions. Every move seemed calculated.

I decided to keep talking since he was paying me to do so. Taking his money felt wrong, but I wasn’t ready for our time together to be over. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m in security. It’s why I was at Discrete Encounters. What do you do?” His eyes went wide. “I mean. I meant. Fuck, I didn’t mean to ask that.”

Sarcastically, I chuckled. “What don’t I do? Through the week, I work mornings at a dentist office, afternoons at a vet clinic walking dogs, and weekends I wait tables.”

“And an escort?” Calling her a hooker didn’t feel right.

An awkward silence filled the room. Bane thought I was a hooker. Who could blame him? I responded, “I think we know my escorting days are over after this talk. I’m not cut out to be a prostitute.”

For the first time, I saw humor in Bane’s eyes versus the emotional dark depths. “What made you sign up?”

Even with Bane’s forbearing presence, I wanted him to know the truth. It was important, for a reason I didn’t want to explore, that Bane knew I wasn’t a hussy. “My brother. He’s in trouble and needs the money.”

Leaning forward slightly, Bane laid his drink on the coffee table. “How much trouble?”

“Enough that the three current jobs I have won’t cover the trouble.” I squirmed. This conversation was getting a little deeper than I wanted to go. Not being strong enough to stand up to my brother was shameful. Maybe taking the offensive in the question asking would help steer the conversation. “What do you do for fun?”

“Run.” A gruesome look passed over my face and Bane chuckled. “It’s relaxing.”

“If you say so. I tried that once and thought my lungs were going to burst from lack of oxygen. Running and I aren’t a mix.” I folded my legs underneath me to get more comfortable.

Bane mimicked my relaxed posture. “It takes some training.”

It was hard to concentrate as the outline of his defined abs became more defined through his snug shirt.
Stay on track, Maren. Talk. He’s paying you to talk.
“Okay, what’s your favorite junk food?”

“What’s yours?”

Ugh, he had a way of out-maneuvering any personal question asked. I wondered if that was a defense mechanism. “Without a doubt, cheesecake. I could live without everything else in my life … except that.”

Unexpected laughter came from Bane, which made me smile. He had a deep laugh and the matching smile enhanced his handsome features. From the stiffness of his posture at Discrete Encounters when we first met, Bane didn’t seem like the type who laughed much. Me being able to make him laugh pleased me more than it should.

I gave a slight playful pout. “Your turn.”

“My junk food of choice would be Cheetos.”

Bane’s phone rung before I had a chance to comment. Answering, he said, “Yes. Okay.” There was a long lingering silence. “Give me an hour. No problem. Thanks.”

Hanging up the phone, I knew our time was over and I was disappointed. “I need to leave. I’ve booked you for the next month if you’re up for more talking.”

I had no idea that my month was filled. Jewel only mentioned I had a date tonight, and I wondered why that large detail was left out. First, I needed to understand what Bane wanted from me. This was not normal. “Why?”

I wrung my hands in front of me as Bane watched me closely—caressing me with one sweep of my body.

“Because you have no expectations. I enjoy it and I haven’t let myself enjoy anything in a long time.”

Whoa.

Biting my lip, I tried to determine what I should do. Bane stood. “Maren, there’s no strings. No pressure. We can meet here again if you want to keep up the illusion until you figure out how you want to handle things with your brother.”

Bane figured so much out about me in the short time span of talking. “What are you expecting from me?”

Another long pause, but the way Bane’s eyes burned through me had my body temperature rising. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

For a split second, his brow furrowed, but the blank mask quickly went back into place. “Sounds good. I guess tomorrow we’ll see.”

Without another word, he left the room. I sat there, figuring out what in the world Bane wanted and if I thought he told the truth. Earning the money couldn’t be as simple as it seemed. Nothing was that easy in life.

SHIT. ALL I thought about was Maren since I’d left the hotel room yesterday. I knew I was distracted and that was a bad thing. Jeremy, friend and head of security for my former employer, Damien Wales, needed an in depth review of a man wanting to meet with Damien for a new business venture.

All had come back clear.

From time to time, I helped Jeremy out when things got busier for the Wales. Football season was always stressful. So many people to watch and control. And of course, Damien wanted his family with him as much as possible when he was at the games. They had a private suite at the stadium, which helped. At some point, I needed to stop by and see them again. It’d been awhile.

Tossing my keys to the valet, I gave him my name. “Bradley. Room 2314.”

“Yes, sir.”

As I approached the elevator, I pushed an excited energy away and ignored it. The feeling felt foreign, nearly unrecognizable. There was no doubt, Maren was a fresh breath of air. A nice change. Someone I wanted more time with. But … that’s where it ended. Money wasn’t an issue, but eventually I’d have to break this habit so as not to endanger her. I never wanted anyone to think there was anything I couldn’t live without. If they found out … that person would have a death sentence, like Jasmine and Faith. I reminded myself of those final moments.

The best thing I could do was turn around and leave, but I couldn’t. And that scared me. Maybe if I indulged the craving, it would vanish. If not, I’d force myself to stop.

As I hit the button for the twenty-third floor, I wondered if Maren would come today. She was hard to read, which I guess would be the pot calling the kettle black. In the Discrete Encounters kitchen, Maren had been flirting, and yesterday she was a different girl completely. As I thought about her junk food question, a slight smile crept on my face.

There were a million different things I figured she’d ask before that. I’d been expecting something more personal. That alone made me want to get to know her some. For now, she wasn’t giving me that moony-eyed giggly shit that girls do when they wanted something more. In fact, Maren had been pretty adamant about no sex. Though my dick wouldn’t mind some relief if she changed her mind. As long as whatever this became over the next month didn’t become complicated. I didn’t do complicated when it came to people.