His Hired Girlfriend (21 page)

“
Ah, but that’s what he
wants you to think,” Mr. Marcelo says, touching the tip of her nose
with his finger. “You’re a beautiful girl. What man doesn’t want
you? Now, be a good girl and do as Daddy says. I heard Jayden has a
girlfriend, is that true?”

“
Daddy!” Britney snaps.
“That mousy girl is not Jayden’s girlfriend. I’m going to be his
girlfriend.”

“
Then you’d better do
something quick. Beth said Kelly’s hen’s night is tomorrow
night.”

“
Ah, yes. Kelly’s hen’s
night. I think I shall come along,” Britney announces. “Beth will
welcome me with both arms.”

“
And do what you must do,” Mr. Marcelo says. “Good night,
sweetheart. Don’t you let your old man down.”

“
I won’t, Daddy,” Britney
replies meekly.

Mr. Marcelo kisses her
forehead and then leaves. Alone, Britney goes about showering and
preparing herself for bed when the doorbell rings.

“
At this hour?” she groans
as she stomps toward the door. She pushes the intercom button and
shouts, “Who is it?”

A male face appears in the
small LCD screen on the wall to the left of the door. “It’s me,
darling.”

Britney’s face lights up
immediately. “Oh, Kyle!” she screams with excitement. “Come in. I’m
so bored.”

Once the door opens,
Britney throws herself into Kyle’s arms and starts kissing him
passionately.

“
You missed me that much,
huh?” Kyle says once his lips are free.

“
Yes. Yes,” she says as
she enthusiastically leads him to the bedroom.

* * *

S
ixteen

The day has been long
and filled with unexpected events. Jayden feels like a zombie as he
drives home at three in the morning. At the same time, however, he
feels exhilarated. With the window down and the fresh breeze on his
face, he feels at peace. It’s therapeutic, to say the
least.

Once home, he quietly sneaks through the front door and
tiptoes up the stairs to his bedroom. There, he slides in and
quietly makes his way to the wardrobe in the dark. He feels like a
damn thief in his own bedroom, but he can’t take the chance of
waking Alex. She’s probably tired after her shopping expedition
with Kelly and Stephanie. Knowing them, they’ve probably made Alex
try on every piece of clothing they could find for her.

He shuts the wardrobe door
and switches on the light. Once he finds his pajamas, he tiptoes to
the bathroom to shower. Ten minutes later, he’s back into the
darkness of his bedroom. The idea of sleeping on that uncomfortable
sofa yet again causes him to groan unpleasantly. Perhaps Alex
wouldn’t mind him sleeping beside her on the bed. After all, she
couldn’t very well protest when she’s asleep.

Mind made up, he goes to the large, luxurious bed and
slides in between the sheets. He rests his head on the soft pillow
and sighs with satisfaction. He spreads his arms out, hoping to
touch the sleeping Alex beside him. Only there’s a cold, empty
space. He frowns and spreads his hands out farther into the
forbidden side.

He bolts up and switches
on the bedside lamp. The room floods with dim, glowing light. The
space on the bed beside him is empty. He glances around the room
and sees a lump of a person cocooned under a mountain of blankets
on the sofa with only a mop of dark hair visible.

Good Lord!
Alex has
stolen his bed—
twice!
What does she want to prove? That
she can comfortably sleep on the sofa and he can’t?

In a flash, he’s standing by the sofa, gazing down at her.
She looks to be in a deep sleep though he can’t see much of her
except for her hair. Damn it. He doesn’t want to disturb her, but
he knows she’ll be sore in the morning.

He bends down and slowly
pulls the blanket away. Before he realizes what’s happening, he
swears under his breath—stunned at the sight he beholds before
him.

Alex is in deep sleep all right. She looks so peaceful
and—
dear
God
—so damn enticing he
couldn’t help but keep gawking at her. It’s only a moment later
that he realizes she’s not wearing her pajamas she usually wears.
Tonight she wears a pink T-shirt and sexy grey short shorts that
show way too much of her slim, shapely legs.

Holy shit!
He strokes
his fingers through his thick hair. Is it just him and the fact
that he’s getting too tired, or does Alex’s skin look soft and
smooth? And hell, yes, he wants to touch her, slowly running his
fingers up her legs.

Perhaps he has been
standing there ogling at her for too long because she suddenly
shivers delicately, drawing herself in and turning over.

He bends low and scoops her into his arms. Her hair brushes
against his nose as she turns her sleeping face toward his. The
wonderful smell of spring dances around him. He brings his nose
closer to her hair and inhales deeply. He sighs, loving the scent
as he gazes at her face.
Oh
man! This is not happening
.
He wants to kiss those luscious lips.

Jayden!
the voice at
the back of his head says,
you’re tired and you’re hallucinating. Put Alex to bed and
then go to sleep.

He nods at that sound
advice and turns on his heels. At that moment, Alexandra flutters
her eyes open.

“
What are you doing?” she
asks, her voice soft and husky, like those hot babes in James Bond
movies who are ready to seduce Bond. Only he knows too well Alex is
not trying to seduce him. Her next words confirm that.

“
Put me down.”

He stares at her. There’s something different about Alex.
He also notices her lashes are long, thick, and dark. She opens up
her eyes. He sucks in his breath, nearly choking on it.

“
Well?” she queries.
“Aren’t you going to put me down?”

He clears his throat,
still too stunned to register the fact that she has changed so
dramatically.

“
I’ll put you down when we
reach the bed,” he says finally.

“
My bed is that way,” she
corrects tiredly, pointing to the sofa.

“
Your bed is there,” he
replies, nodding to the bed. “And don’t argue with me. Go back to
sleep.”

“
Bully!” she grumbles
sleepily, her eyes closing and her fist weakly punching his
chest.

“
Ouch!” he chuckles, teasing her. Her punch feels like an
itch to him. “Why did you do that?”

Alex opens her eyes. “Cos
I want to hurt you,” she retorts.

“
Why do you want to hurt
me?”

Alex wants to say
—because you lied to me.
Instead she says, “Put me down, Jayden.”

“
All right.” He gently
puts her down on the bed. Alex immediately rolls off and marches
back toward the sofa. Jayden swiftly catches her arm and swings her
around.

“
What?”

Jayden blinks. He realizes her thick, bedroom-tangled hair
looks different. The color has changed. It’s light brown with a
hint of blond, and under the dim light, it’s glossy. Her whole
complexion looks healthy, fresh, and milky.

Shit! Alex is beautiful, and he feels his gut churning with
acid and his body shuddering with desire. She looks too damn sexy
and tempting. She’s about to give him a heart attack. No, maybe he
had too much wine back at the party, and now he can’t seem to
concentrate or see things clearly. Yes, he is drunk. His brain must
be playing tricks on him.

No kidding, Jayden,
the voice at the back of his head says.
You hardly had more than two glasses of
wine.

“
Well?” Alex prompts,
frowning at him, folding her arms across her chest.

Jayden shakes his head to
clear his thought. “The bed is this way.”

“
I’m too tired to argue or
fight with you now. We’ll do it in the morning,” she
announces.

“
It is morning, and we’re
not fighting,” Jay says, moving closer.

“
Yes, we kind of are,” she replies, unfolding her arms
impatiently, which draws Jayden’s attention to her chest. He
realizes she’s not wearing a bra underneath that thin T-shirt that
says clearly “
I’m No
Angel”
in big, bold letters.
How ironic because looking at her now she damn well looks like an
angel—a very sexy one at that.

“
In what way?” he asks
with his head cocked to one side, now studying her.

Alex pulls her face. She wonders what they’re doing,
talking about nonsense when she knows they both are tired and in
need of a lot of shut-eye. She thinks she should get away from him;
otherwise, she’ll probably start shouting at him about his
lies.

She shrugs her shoulders
and turns on her heels.

Jayden doesn’t know what
comes over him. He should have just left it at that and let her
return to her uncomfortable sofa and him back to his inviting soft
bed. He, however, acts before he can think. He swiftly and smoothly
gets off the bed and pulls Alex into his arms.

“
Ah!” Alex gasps. She
blinks, her sleepiness gone. She’s now aware of his strength and
warmth against her body, excitement bubbling up in the pit of her
stomach.

Jay runs his fingers
through her hair, mesmerized by her newfound beauty. Yes, her hair
is soft and silky under his touch.

“
Your pupils are dilated,
Jay,” she says, grinning, knowing he likes her new look.

“
What?”

“
Your pupils are dilated,”
she repeats.

“
Yeah?”

“
Yes. We humans are like
that. When we see what we like, our pupils dilate.” She grins
cheekily.

“
Right,” he responds,
still at a loss as to what she’s talking about. To be frank, he
doesn’t care. He just likes listening to the sound of her sweet,
husky voice, inhaling her scent, and gazing at her pretty face he
has the urge to kiss so badly.

Alex cocks her head to one
side. “Do you like what you see, Jay?”

That brings him up short. He stops stroking her hair and
frowns.
Is she implying
something?

“
May I ask you a
question?” she starts.

“
What?”

“
Does touching a woman make you feel disgusted? I mean, like
really gross you out?”

Jayden blinks.
“What?”

“
I mean you’re gay, right?
Doesn’t the thought of touching a woman gross you out?” she asks,
her brows rising.

Holy Mother of God! He has
forgotten the fact that he is supposed to be gay. And how the heck
is he supposed to know whether gay men feel disgusted at the
thought of touching women?

“
Well,” he begins,
searching his tired brain for an answer. “I don’t know about gay
men—I mean other gay men, but I surely don’t feel grossed out at
the thought of touching women.”

“
So, um, touching me right
now doesn’t gross you out?”

Jayden wants to laugh only he knows he shouldn’t because
she’d be suspicious and think he’s a loon.

Heck
, no! You feel
just right in my arms, my sweet,
he wants to say to her. But of course he
doesn’t.

“
No, not at
all.”

“
Really?” Alex prompts. “Right.” She nods and takes a step
back, almost reluctantly. “Right then. Good night,” she says and
turns on her heels.

“
Oh, no, you don’t,” he chuckles.

“
What?” she says over her
shoulder.

“
The bed.” He nods that
way.

She raises her brows,
challenging him. “And you’ll sleep on the sofa?”

“
Nope. I’ll sleep on the
bed with you.”

“
No,” she replies
simply.

“
Yes,” he says, grabbing
her arm and pulling her to him.

She laughs. “Jayden, I
don’t think so. It’s not safe.”

“
What’s not
safe?”

“
I told you before. I used
to sleep on the sofa, so I’m comfortable with that.”

“
No. You’ll sleep on the bed with me, missy.”

“
It’s not safe,” she says,
frowning at him now, seriously pulling herself away from his tight
grasp.

“
Don’t be silly. I’m gay.
What could happen?” he says, laughing.

A lot could happen, Jayden,
she wants to shout at him.
I know you’re not gay.

Instead, she says, “Right.
Nothing could happen of course. But still—”

Jayden bends down, scoops her up, and marches to the bed.
Before Alex knows it, she’s on the bed and Jayden is on top of her.
She can’t move away.

He chuckles. “If you run
away, Alex, I’m going to kiss you.”

She laughs, her soft voice
echoing in the room.

He smiles, loving her
beautiful laugh.