Safe House (10 page)

Chapter Two

One thing was for sure; he knew how to get his intentions across, noted Angela some minutes later. Turned out her mystery host was a private and wealthy man who for a few short weeks required someone to perform the role of his girlfriend.

Angela’s misgivings lightened somewhat. This wasn’t totally unheard of. Professional escorts did this all the time, didn’t they? And she wasn’t thinking about the call girl variety of course. But the independent companions who were paid to play the attentive, refined girlfriend to a discerning and well-heeled client. Men of standing who sought elegant, beautiful and charming women they would be proud to showoff as a companion for a given amount of time. Women who would be able to blend into any given environment, and shine whatever the occasion. Naturally these women would understand the client’s need for a fleeting no-strings attachment that would terminate once the service was no longer required.

At her age of twenty-seven Angela was comfortable with such arrangements, but had never been in the situation before. However, she couldn’t help being interested especially when he got to the part about the payment involved. When she heard the amount, her eyebrows shot up.

“As you can imagine I have no problem compensating you handsomely for your time and convenience. A contract will draw up the elements of your duties in more detail, and once you agree the papers will be signed.”

Angela nodded her understanding, staring harder at him and wishing she could see more of his appearance. She wondered what he looked like.

“Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

Those words from him made Angela start. So far her mind had been in a whirl considering all the possibilities. Now she couldn’t help but frown slightly as she said, “Actually, I do have one question. Why are you doing this? Surely there are plenty of women willing to date you. With your money you must have women tripping over themselves to be on your arm.”

There were a few moments of silence before he replied.

“Frankly, I need a woman who will focus on the job without cultivating any romantic notions where I am concerned,” Shane Davis said bluntly. “I chose not to go the route of conventional dating because I don’t require the restrictions of an authentic relationship. All I need is someone who will play her part, and then go on her merry way when the job is done. That’s what all that money is for, Ms. Neil. I’m buying your time and your confidentiality as well as the assurance that once the time comes, you’ll go your way without a fuss and I’ll go mine. Strictly business.”

“I like the sound of that,” Angela surprised herself by saying. Well, she did. For all that money, she would be okay with being his arm candy for a few weeks. She’d have imagined he’d prefer one of those Barbie type blondes or whatever the stereotype for the perfect girlfriend was these days for a man of means.

But like he’d said, he had his reasons. They obviously didn’t concern her which was cool, for now. However she’ll be looking carefully over the fine print before she signed anything. She wondered if she’d need a lawyer? Not that she could afford one.

Angela was already weighing the proposition and calculating what that kind of money would do to her ailing bank balance. Her mind was busy whirling as she considered her turn of fortune when his next words made her head snap back.

“There’s only one catch, Ms. Neil,” said Shane Davis very plainly. Something in his voice had Angela narrowing her eyes as she held her breath.

“During our temporary liaison, I’ll expect you to share my bed.”

****

Angela should have known it was all too good to be true.

As his words sank in she felt rage overtake her as she snatched up her purse and shot to her feet.

“Are you saying I’m supposed to be sleeping with you as well? What do you think I am, a hooker?” She was glowering in his direction and already about to head right around out the door. Damn these rich assholes. Thought every woman was for sale. It was bad enough she was considering getting paid for her companionship. But sex for money? Hell no. She wasn’t raised that way and hoped to never be that desperate.

He rose to his feet but even at that, she couldn’t see his face. Could only tell that he was very tall, and slim built, dressed in a light blue shirt, and to her surprise jeans that fitted perfectly to his frame.

“I would have thought you’d be far more…open-minded,” he drawled.

“Why? Because I’m an out of work actress?” sneered Angela. “I won’t be propositioned like some floozy. I’m sure a man with your resources can find a barrel full of willing candidates if all you’re interested in is a cheap thrill.”

She spun sharply on her heel and already had her hand on the knob. Her chest was heaving with fury and she felt close to tears. Damn! She hadn’t cried over anything in years. It had been a long time she’d felt in any way inadequate or demeaned. How on earth could she have thought this would be a good idea? He was probably one of those secretive perverts with more money than they knew what to do with.

“Wait, Angela. Please.”

Angela heard him but had no intention of heeding his command, except that from the corner of her eye she saw him move forward, away from the concealing shadow.

Curiosity had her turning around and what she saw made her catch her breath
.

He had to be the most handsome man she’d ever seen. As he closed the gap between them she had a glimpse of his face; square-cut and tanned with light grey eyes and black, silky looking hair growing overlong and flopping across his forehead. But then he stepped completely into the pool of light and she could catch his full features and though she was jolted she didn’t look away
. There were
terrible scars on the right edge of his face, running from the side of his forehead, jaw and down to disappear into his collar.

“I’ve offended you. I apologize,” he said. He didn’t seem perturbed by her fixed scrutiny and he stepped even closer. His grey eyes scanned her face as if searching for any kind of reaction to his appearance. Angela was filled with mostly curiosity but if he was looking for disgust or fear he wouldn’t find it.

Besides, it was almost as if he wanted to shock her, what with the way he came so close as to be virtually within reach. But then he stopped, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, adding mildly, “Chalk it down to being away from female company and in fact society for too long. I’ve kept to myself over such an extended period, I forget how to act around a beautiful, alluring woman. You don’t have to agree to that part of the bargain. Please forget I mentioned it.”

“Oh, I never intended to,” Angela snapped, regaining her voice and composure. She looked right up at him without flinching at the sight of his face. “I know that my coming here could open me to all sorts of unseemly suggestions. I guess I deserved that, agreeing to meet a perfect stranger at a secluded mansion. What else could I have expected?”

She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her tone, and saw him shove his fingers through his tumble of long hair. She couldn’t understand what it was about him that struck her so strongly. Apart from the scars, there was a certain element of him that was magnetic and thrilling.

The way he looked at her, for one. The moment she’d met his light-colored gaze she’d felt the heat transmit in clear signals to stir at her womanly core. She couldn’t say she’d ever been looked at quite that way before though being full grown she knew what it felt like to be desired. Even though she’d sworn off men for the time being to focus on work, she still felt the strange tug that came from sensing the awareness harbored by someone of the opposite sex.

The man called Shane Davis was dangerous; Angela knew that without being told. She just wasn’t sure exactly what she should be wary of. But something told her to turn around and walk away before it was too late.

“I would like you to reconsider my offer. My original offer,” he said with a firmness that made her pause, letting him continue.

“You’ve made it clear that you’d prefer to keep sex out of the equation. This is regrettable, as frankly put I find you very desirable. But I can imagine you can’t say the same for me considering what I look like.”

His tone was factual, which rubbed Angela the wrong way even as she felt a coil tighten in her belly at the knowledge that she was ‘desirable’.

“If you really think that’s the reason then you really have been holed up here too long. It has nothing to do with your…how you look. I have principles, Mr. Davis. A sense of worth; and my body can’t be bought no matter the price.”

“An admirable code, Ms. Neil. I will do my best to respect your point of view as we enter into our arrangement,” he said smoothly.

“Hey wait a minute. I never said I’ll do it. In fact on further review, this isn’t something I feel I can pull off after all. I’m sorry for wasting your time,” Angela said quickly. She needed to leave before the thought of losing all that money made her physically sick. But she couldn’t trust him. Couldn’t be sure of what it would entail entering such an agreement with a man who possibly had no scruples.

She’d turned away again but this time it was a hand encircling her wrist that had her freezing in place. Angela stared down at the long and well-shaped fingers wrapped around her wrist. This was his right hand and unlike the left one which was unmarked, this was crisscrossed with healed burn scars that contrasted white against the other parts of the top of his tanned skin.

Angela recoiled from the sensation of his warm, powerful touch that shot a shaft of responsiveness straight to her feminine core. She looked up and saw that he took her shrinking to be of disgust and let her go abruptly.

He shoved the hand back in his pocket and expelled a harsh breath. “Look, Ms. Neil – Angela; you have nothing to fear from me. I’m making you a legitimate job offer for which you will be generously rewarded. I’m a very rich man who has found himself in an uncomfortable position of needing a girlfriend for a few weeks. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too serious. My family, particularly my mother, has been extremely worried about me the past few months and I simply want to give her some peace of mind. Let her see I’m recovering and moving on with my life. This is why I require your acting skill: to aid me in painting the kind of picture that would relieve her mind. I truly hope you will consider my offer. I promise not to pressure you to accept my sexual advances because forcing a woman into my bed has never been a trait of mine despite my appearance.”

There it was again; thought Angela. He kept mentioning his scars; drawing attention to them like she couldn’t see for herself the ravages done to his face. Angela knew that some other women would have been repelled by the scars that made one side of his features hard to abide but she was made of far sterner stuff. She’d had a cousin who’d fought in Afghanistan who’d not only lost his two legs, but had most of his face torn up by shrapnel. Angela wasn’t the type to be fixated on the outer shell and also felt drawn to what one stood for or offered as a person, not just a face or body.

She was far from squeamish and though Shane Davis’s scars were appalling it would take more than that to throw her for a loop. No, she was far more disturbed by her reaction to him and the way she felt physically rattled by his searing masculinity that even his scars could not hide. No doubt about it; take away that scarred side of his face and this man would be one hell of a distraction to her peace of mind if they were to spend any amount of time around each other.

Shaking that revealing thought off, she shouldered her purse with a ragged breath.
“I’ll still need time to…think about things,” she said through a scratchy throat. She saw his frown and blurted, “I’m sorry but I simply can’t be expected to make a decision immediately. I hope you understand.”

He nodded curtly, obviously not pleased. But there was nothing he could do about it, was there? She heard him say coolly, “And I hope you understand that this is to remain confidential.”

“You can count on me,” Angela said with a sincere note. Who would she go telling anyway? Who would care to find out she’d been offered to act as some wealthy recluse’s girlfriend for a few weeks?

“That’s good to know. You’ll have twenty-four hours to make up your mind,” he said and swiveled to return to his desk.

Gaping at the broad outline of his back, Angela spluttered. “What?”

“That’s all the time I can spare, Ms. Neil,” he said, pausing at his desk and turning to give her one expressionless glance. “Speed is of the essence. I’m prepared to consider other alternatives if you choose to dawdle.”

Angela’s cheeks went hot at his words, wishing she could tell him to jump off a cliff with his attitude.

But she couldn’t do that…yet. Not until she weighed her options carefully. This would have been some quick, easy money that would keep her from worrying about finances for the next year if she chose. Was that enough to even be considering a fictitious connection with a man like him with no morals who still might expect her to sleep with him as part of a contract
?

Maybe if she knew what kind of man he really was, she could come to the right decision. And heaven knew she couldn’t wait to find out everything she could about Shane Davis…

Chapter Three

“Linda! Can you come in here a minute!”

The assistant hurried into the room. “So, what did you think about her?” she asked, trying to hide a smile. “She’s very pretty.”

“You knew?” Shane said, more as a statement than a question. 

“Knew what?” she replied, unable to contain her grin now.

“That she’s the opposite of what I requested. She’s completely different from anybody I’ve ever dated in the past. So you want to tell me how that happened?”

Linda let out a long sigh and placed the file folder she was holding on the table. “Yes, I knew. Maybe it’s time for a change, Shane. Here’s her file. Seems like a nice girl. Smart, hard-working, takes care of her dad who is in an assisted living facility. I ran a thorough background check on her. She’s behind on a few bills, but that’s the only mark against her. I wouldn’t have brought her in for the interview if I didn’t think she could do the job.”

Shane reached over and picked up the thick folder.

“Oh and you can thank me later,” Linda said over her shoulder as she turned and walked out the door.

Shane flipped through the folder detailing everything a private detective could dig up about Angela Neil. Linda was right. Angela would be perfect for the job.

He didn’t know what the hell had come over him. 

The part about Angela sharing his bed had never been in the plan. It was supposed to have been a cold-hearted agreement. Strictly business. But then he’d never bargained for wanting her like hell the moment she walked through the door.

She hadn’t been wearing anything provocative and there’d been nothing to suggest she would be interested in such a proposal. Fuck! So many months of avoiding any kind of female company was finally taking its toll. In fact no woman had switched him on so easily in a long while and it had momentarily freaked him out. He’d hoped the woman he hired for the job could be trusted to stick to the protocol.

But now sticking to any ‘protocol’ became the farthest thing from his mind.

Angela Neil embodied a woman in her sexual prime whose gaze, her smile could send heat signals zapping through the veins of any red-blooded adult male. In that somewhat modest dress, her curves had been hinted at with delicious detail.

Exquisitely feminine, she was well-spoken and had a stimulating personality that made you want to get closer, find out what made her tick. Shane couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to lie with her, peel off each layer of that outfit and find out if that beautiful skin tone was even all over.

Shane groaned and turned sharply away from the window. It was an hour since she’d left and yet, he could swear a hint of her sexy perfume still remained. He felt like slamming his fist into a wall for how stupidly he’d handled things, blurting out like that about her sharing his bed as part of the contract. He normally had more strategy. And normally, before the car wreck that marred half his face, he could get any woman he wanted.

Shane could blame his extraordinary reaction to Angela on a lot of things. His long-term celibacy, for one. He’d meant it when he’d told her he’d been away from both female and social company for much too long. Ever since he’d returned from hospital after more than a year of treatment for his burns, Shane had found out soon enough that his new appearance would make him less than appealing to the fairer sex – or anyone for that matter. Apart from his closest friends who’d known him since childhood or his racing days, everyone else seemed repelled by what he’d become – something of a monster, whose once arresting good looks had become ravaged and scarred.

At first it had hurt like hell; seeing the rejection and disgust in a woman’s face where there had once been lust and admiration. He’d been so used to women falling easily into his lap – not just because of his money or looks, but for what he knew was his undeniable charm. Now not even those could win him the affection of a woman he wanted.

And then one day he’d decided, to hell with all of them. He didn’t require romance, or to feel the warmth of a woman’s love or esteem. But he did have needs like every other man…

Shane remembered that one time. The
high-priced escort. Very practiced, very beautiful. She hadn’t even flinched when she’d seen his face. She’d undressed slowly, beguilingly. Her pale, slender flesh had been perfectly symmetrical, textbook sexy. Pert boobs, smooth-shaven sex and endless legs which she straddled on either side of his laps as he’d sat in his chair, immovable.

“We could have our very own Beauty and the Beast role-play,” she’d purred, flicking her long auburn tresses over her shoulder as her hands rested on his broad chest, scars tracking down the side of his right pectoral. “I’ve always wanted to be ravished by a man who looks like he could rip my clothes off with his teeth.”

S
h
e had done everything right. Her kisses had been wet and tempting. But it didn’t work out in the end. Shane had been indifferent, disappointed with himself. He’d told her quietly to dress and leave.

“What’s the matter? Did I do anything wrong?”

“It’s not you. It’s me. I’m sorry to waste your time. You’ll get paid in full and a little extra for the unsatisfying ending on my part,” he’d said, turning sharply away from her and shrugging back into his shirt.

“Oh, I’m not dissatisfied,” she’d said with a teasing smile. “There’s something about you that’s more than a scarred face. You’ve got a fascination…a certain magnetism that will make a woman want to look beyond the surface. I hope one day you’ll find the right one who will.”

Her words hadn’t held pity, only factuality.

It had stirred Shane’s imagination as he wondered if it were possible. In this world where appearance was everything and people judged by one’s looks and physical attractiveness; what woman would want to end up with someone that looked like him?

Shane decided he didn’t want to find out. It would break him if he tried and failed, or was rejected.

Shane never tried to pay for sex again.

So why had he acted like such a jackass with Angela? He knew he’d messed up and she probably wanted nothing to do with him or his offer to act as his girlfriend for a few weeks.

He also knew he’d have no sleep until he had her answer. One thing was certain, he wasn’t ready to see the last of Angela Neil just yet.

****

Angela was acting distracted and even her sister knew it.

They were going to see their father today. After his last stroke he’d required round-the-clock care that neither sister could provide at home. The assisted living facility was well equipped though far from the best they’d have picked for their aging father but since the sisters weren’t exactly swimming in money, they had to make do.

“He’ll be fine,” Sasha said, squeezing on Angela’s hand as they sat in their father’s room an hour later. He was asleep when they arrived and instead of waking him up, they chose to sit around, and whisper quietly.

“I know,” Angela said on a sigh. “Though I’m not really happy with the way they’re treating him in this place. I know they do the best they can, but…”

“We’re trying our best. Dad knows that,” said her supportive sister. “That’s why he never complains.”

“He wouldn’t,” Angela agreed, staring at the man whose illness had made him far leaner than he used to be, adding years to his once sturdy good looks. In sleep he looked rested but Angela knew how much he suffered due to problems with his heart and other debilitating complications. But Cassidy Neil was made of stern stuff and though he was mostly in and out of consciousness and woozy or in pain half the time, he never gave them cause to worry. But they did all the same.

“Are you okay, sis?” Sasha asked. “You seem a little off today.”

“I was so sure my career would have taken off by now,” Angela said distantly, her eyes cloudy. “But so far, only one bit part in a feature movie – and simply because I was getting hit on by the director who I ended up dating. Look where that got me. And then one lousy commercial…” She shook her head with a wry smile. “Hardly Hollywood’s finest, am I? I mean, I get offers but not for the kind of roles I want to be in. If I want to continue doing this, I need to move to Los Angeles. There’s no way I can leave Dad though. And now…”

She shook her head, thinking of yesterday and her strange meeting with the even stranger Shane Davis. She’d spent all of last night reading up on him.

The internet had everything she needed to know for background information. Shane Davis had been stock car racing’s hottest new star having won the series Championship two years before. There were countless photos of Shane in the Winner’s Circle holding up trophy after trophy always with a different big-breasted blonde or two hanging onto his arm. Then sixteen months ago at the Daytona race, Shane and another driver were facing nose-to-nose toward the finish line in the last lap when the other driver’s car bounced off the wall and collided with his.

Angela had felt physically ill as she watched the online video of the two cars flipping over and over until they both exploded in a horrendous crash and finally slid to a halt. Firetrucks and ambulances immediately rushed to the scene. By the time they could extinguish the flames however, the other driver was already dead and Shane was severely injured with third degree burns covering the right side of his face, upper torso, arm and hand.

He’d spent almost a year undergoing numerous surgeries and extensive rehabilitation at a special burn center in Nashville. Eventually he was released and apparently hadn’t returned to racing since then. She couldn’t find a single news item about him after leaving the hospital. It was if both society and the racing scene had written him off for dead too.

Angela couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man. No wonder he was so messed up, locking himself away and keeping in shadows. Offering money for sex and companionship. He’d said the ‘job’ she was to do was a set-up to convince his family he was recovering both physically and emotionally. She wondered if he really was recovering or if this was a desperate attempt to hold them at bay? No wonder they were worried about him. From what she could tell, they had good reason.

Angela had stared at his online photos for a long time-Shane Davis in a driver’s suit, popping bottles of celebratory champagne or leaning against a racecar in jeans and a white t-shirt. A few photos of him shirtless, peering under the engine of a car, always with some sexy model or groupie hanging around in the background; whoever happened to be flavor of the month for him at that time. But those pictures were all from two years ago, before the accident.

Since he’d recuperated enough to return home Shane Davis hadn’t shown himself in public; not to the point of getting his photo taken anyway. So Angela was able to see him as he once was: one of Nashville’s top playboys, lover of fast cars and even faster women from the look of things. Now, he stayed hidden behind the dark walls of his mansion.

Angela had finally switched off the computer in the early hours of the morning. No one deserved to end up looking like that; especially when he’d been such a fantastically fine piece of work. She’d never seen such thick, black hair with sinfully thick waves; or eyes so light grey they seemed transparent. And his lips; curved with wicked sensuality, they stayed etched in her mind as she went to sleep beneath her covers.

What the devil was happening to her? She needed to stay the hell away from that man. No matter the kind of money he’d offered, it was too much of a risk getting involved. Look how he’d gotten under her skin after only one meeting.

Even his scars didn’t seem the turn-off they should have been but only lent him more of a mystical air. She didn’t need this drama. She’d sworn to stay low key and focus on her career. And fake-dating a man like Shane Davis might open them both up to unsavory publicity especially once one considered how ill-matched they were. How could he even imagine this was something they could pull off? That she could pull off?

“Don’t sweat it, sis,” Sasha was saying, cutting into Angela’s troubled thoughts. Angela hadn’t chosen to confide in her younger sister about the offer she’d received. Only mentioned that there was a job prospect she was wary of taking despite the lofty monetary rewards. Sasha had assured Angela that she was sure Angela would make the right decision in the end.

Angela really needed someone to talk to but resisted the urge to now burden Sasha with the details. Sasha was just out of college and working odd jobs until she could get something relevant to her chosen field. Solid employment in the work force was as difficult as getting the right acting roles it seemed. She hated the thought of a college trained young lady having to wait tables at clubs just to get by.

Angela didn’t like it that her twenty-three year old sister was getting exposed to the club life with all her intelligence. Every other night Sasha had to fight off the unwanted attentions of a drunk patron or her boss who owned the club. Sasha hated it just as much as Angela did but what choice did any of them have? Their mother was long gone and they’d been the type of family that scraped by on their father’s modest security job from which he’d been laid off from years ago.

Life hadn’t really been fair to either of them but Angela had always had big dreams, high hopes and encouraged her sister to do the same. Even now Sasha was doing her best to cheer Angela up, reminding her that her agent had promised to fix her up with some promising auditions before the end of the month.