The Artist (The Game Changers #2) (9 page)

“Tell Corbin I said hello.”

He pulled the phone away. “She says that you need to do your job, douchebag.” I heard Corbin’s voice say something I couldn’t make out. “Fuck off,” Maverick responded to him. “Sorry, Duchess. I have to whip him into shape. So, dinner?”

I couldn’t say no, so an hour later the knock on my door was a welcome distraction from the article that wasn’t being written.

“Thai,” he said by way of greeting as he held up the takeout bags and walked past me into my kitchen.

“That’s it?”

“Oh no, Duchess. I was just dropping the food off.” He came back over to me and lifted me by my rear. My legs wrapped around him as he kissed me like we hadn’t seen each other for months. “Man, I missed you today.”

“Missed me or missed being in bed with me?”

“Am I a jackass for saying both?” he asked seriously.

I shook my head. “No. I feel exactly the same,” I told him with a quick kiss on his lips. “What did you bring me to eat? Smells delicious.” He set me down and started pulling boxes out of the bags while I grabbed my Vera Wang plates and silverware.

As we ate a meal of fattening delicious noodles sitting in front of my wonderfully remote-controlled gas fireplace, he told me about his meeting. “I have to come up with a few designs by next week. This project is moving fast because they want the space available for weddings and events before the end of the year.”

“How long will it take?”

“Once we actually get to the painting phase, it will take a few months. There’s more than one artist involved. They asked me to do angels.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“We’ll see if they like what I come up with for the space.”

“I’m sure they will. Your work is incredible.”

He leaned over to give me a quick kiss. “Thank you, Duchess. I’m glad you think so. Tell me about your day.”

This conversation was so normal, yet I’d never had this experience with another man. My father never asked my mother about her day, and I certainly had never dated anyone who cared enough to ask me, either. My feelings for Maverick were quickly escalating beyond my control, and I was beginning to worry that perhaps I did mean more to him as well. Even so, I couldn’t stop what was happening between us if I tried. It was like trying to stop a freight train with dental floss. That didn’t mean I wasn’t dreading the end that I knew would eventually come; it just meant that I had to live in the moment, knowing one day I’d want to remember how this felt.

“Hey, where’d you go?” He gently touched my cheek when I still hadn’t answered.

“Sorry. I was thinking. I almost forgot. I have to go to this thing on Wednesday. It’s a dinner and auction for children’s cancer research, and I’m on the planning committee. I’d like for you to come with me.” I felt nervous. What if these kinds of events weren’t something Maverick was willing to attend? What if he didn’t want to put on a suit and stand around while people threw their money at expensive wines and vacations?

“Yeah?”

“I know you have the bar to run, but…” I didn’t get a chance to finish, not that I knew what I was going to say to convince him anyway.

“I’ll go. Corbin can manage the bar without me. It’s no problem.”

“Really?”

“You thought I’d say no?” he asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

“Well, yeah.”

This time when he kissed me, he pulled me onto his lap and slowly pressed his lips to mine. “All you have to do is ask.”

And I melted. Katherine Peters melts. I was a puddle on the floor. His soft kiss turned into something else entirely, and before I knew it, we were on the floor in front of the fire completely naked and wrapped in each other.

***

The night of the dinner came quickly enough. I dressed in a silk champagne cocktail dress with a fitted bodice and sweetheart neckline. It gave my chest the boost it needed, making me feel very sexy indeed. I wanted the dress to be a surprise for Maverick, so I slid my coat on before I answered the door.

The sight at the door took my breath away. I had seen many men in suits. I had seen a lot of good-looking men in suits. I had seen famous men in suits, businessmen in suits, even models in suits, but none of them compared to the man standing in my doorway watching me take him in with that damn smirk on his face.

“I take it you like what you see, Duchess?” Liked what I saw? Hell, there weren’t words to describe what I was feeling.

“You have no idea, Maverick.” I wanted to strip him down and lock him away. The girls were going to be all over him looking like that.

“I think I do,” he whispered against my neck.

“We better go.” He nodded and led me downstairs where I had a car waiting to take us to the dinner.

If I thought I felt good looking in the mirror, it was nothing compared to how I felt once Maverick helped me remove my coat and handed it to the girl at the coat check. Once the heavy fabric slid from my shoulders, he gasped. My hair was pinned into a loose twist that left my neck and back bare.

“Duchess, what are you trying to do to me?” He pressed his erection into my backside, showing me exactly what I was doing to him. “Trying to get me arrested for public indecency?”

I laughed a little. “Let’s get this over with, then you can be as indecent as you want with me in private.”

He took my hand and led me into the ballroom that was already filling with guests. We grabbed champagne from a passing waiter as I greeted acquaintances and introduced them to Maverick. Surprisingly, he knew some of them, and what was even better was that they knew of him and his art. I was so proud to be on his arm.

It wasn’t long before I caught Penelope’s eye, and the open jaw moment of shock that graced her sweet little face was priceless. Yes, she had gotten a glimpse of Maverick while she stood across the room with Lewis and his protruding belly and double chin. I pressed myself closer into Maverick’s side and smiled widely at her gaping mouth.

Victoria noticed her expression and searched the room for what Pen was staring at so intently. I knew the moment Victoria saw me because she smiled. The smile quickly fell when she saw the man gripping my waist and planting a sweet kiss to my temple. Victoria and Penelope wore matching expressions of shock as I approached them. Where Penelope’s was a look of surprise that I had found such a delicious man, I was fairly certain Victoria’s look was born of jealousy.

After I introduced Maverick to my so-called friends, Victoria wasted no time in pushing Sam off her and turning to flirt with my Maverick.

“So, you must be the famous Adam?” she asked as she sidled up next to him, leaving Sam, her date, behind her. Sam was speaking with another couple that I recognized as the CEO of the children’s hospital and his wife. He nodded a greeting toward me but continued his conversation as his date came to harass mine.

“I don’t know about being famous, but yes, I’m Adam.” He held out his hand to greet her.

Victoria slid her manicured hands into his. I saw her stick her chest out slightly and lean further into him. “Victoria Templeton.” She looked at me and scolded, “You didn’t tell Penelope how gorgeous he is.” She didn’t wait for me to acknowledge her before turning back to him. “And you’re a painter? Is it true what they say about artists?”

“What is it they say about artists?” he asked while discreetly sliding behind me, so I was between him and Victoria.

“Kitty,” a voice that could ruin my night cut through the conversation. I turned to find my mother staring back at me. “Who’s your friend?” she asked as she too stared at Maverick.

“Adam, this is my mother, Violet Peters. Mother, this is Adam Vaughn.” I said nothing more. I didn’t want to call him my boyfriend for the first time to my mother, the saboteur, but I didn’t want to insult Maverick by calling him my friend. He was so much more than a friend.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Peters.”

“You as well, Mr. Vaughn. How do you and Kitty know each other?”

I felt Maverick tense when my mother called me Kitty. I had told him how much I hated it one night in bed. “The cat jokes are ridiculous,” I had said. “Cat got your tongue, Kitty? Or how about telling me to keep my claws in when I get mad? And I loathe being called the p-word.”

“I can imagine,” he had agreed. Then he added, “There’s only a few times when it’s okay to use the p-word.”

“Really? I can’t think of any.”

“Hmm…I can think of a few things I’d like to do with your ‘p-word’ right now.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Good time to use the p-word?” he asked.

“Only if you can follow through.”

“You know I can,” he confirmed. And he had. He did amazing things to make my “p-word” feel good that night.

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that, though. Maverick was attempting to converse with my suspicious mother, and there I was, thinking about the p-word. Thankfully, Maverick was unaware of my wayward thoughts. He told my mother, “Katherine and I met at a coffee shop then ran into each other at Blythe Withers’ art show.”

“Oh? You know Blythe?”

“Yes, we’ve worked together before.”

“Is that right?” my mother said, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. “Are you also an artist, Mr. Vaughn?”

“I am, yes. A painter.”

“Impressive,” she said, even though I knew she was anything but impressed. My mother had been a ballerina before she met my father, so you would think she’d have an appreciation for artists. She had an appreciation for art, but artists were unstable and unpredictable in her mind. Needless to say, an artist was not someone she would allow me to date if it were up to her, but right then, she knew her opinion didn’t matter. I watched her press her lips together to physically keep her mouth shut.

“Thank you,” Maverick said politely, obviously not reading my mother the way I had. I was thankful he didn’t know her better. The last thing I wanted was for my mother to make him feel inferior in any way. If anything, we were the mediocre ones, not Maverick.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, “I see some friends I’d like to catch up with. Nice to meet you, Mr. Vaughn.”

“You too, Mrs. Peters.” Maverick nodded as she walked away. “That wasn’t so bad,” he said once she was gone.

“Yeah,” I agreed, knowing it was only the calm before the storm.

My parents practically ignored me for the rest of the evening. My father never once glanced my way. I did catch my mother watching me a few times, but she would look away quickly if our eyes met. It was strange, to say the least, but fairly easy to ignore them, considering it was a sit-down, five-course dinner. Thankfully, we were assigned to different tables. Besides the discomfort they dished out on a daily basis, I wouldn’t have wanted either of my parents to witness the teasing game Maverick and I were playing under the tablecloth throughout all five courses. After what seemed like hours of foreplay, Maverick and I left right after dessert, effectively allowing me to forget my mother’s odd behavior and my father’s dismissal.

When the next day passed without any contact from my parents, I began to think they weren’t going to interfere in my new life. I knew better than to get my hopes up, though. My parents didn’t let anything go. They were just lying in wait until the opportunity to ruin my life presented itself. Little did I know that storm was brewing, and my feelings for Maverick would be the catalyst to set it all in motion.

Chapter Thirteen

“Katherine, these articles are just what we needed. Do you know how many comments we receive from your articles alone? I’m thinking we need to offer you a full-time writing position,” my editor quickly said when she called to give me another assignment. Usually we conversed by email, but she made the effort to call me this time. I couldn’t help but hope for a possibility like a full-time position.

Getting this position might mean I wouldn’t be forced to crawl back to Dick after the month was up. I began to wonder if I could figure out how to live on my own without his help. I didn’t want to give Maverick up in just over a week when my dad came to take my keys away. I would do almost anything to keep my new life, even if the only family I had wasn’t part of it. Maverick was part of the new Katherine, and this was the happiest I had ever been.

“A full-time position? Really?” I clarified with Sue.

“You interested?”

“Absolutely!”

“Great,” she said. “Come to the office Monday around nine, and we’ll get it all worked out. This will be great for both of us, Katherine.” Her last statement was the encouragement I needed to continue on this path. Who needed Dick and his money when I had people like Sue and Maverick behind me? Katherine Peters didn’t need Dick. That was for damn sure. Wait…That came out all wrong.

“Thank you, Sue,” I said before she let me go to get back to work. Once I hung up the phone, I threw on a sweater, grabbed my bag, and headed down the street to see the one person who would share in my excitement. The bar was just opening for the Saturday night crowd, so it was practically empty. Dee was behind the bar rinsing glasses while Moby stood placing money in the register.

“Hey, Dee,” I said as I approached the bar. “Is he here?”

“Office,” she said without looking up. In all the time I had spent at the bar, Double Dee still hadn’t warmed up to me. Perhaps I should have stopped calling her Double Dee, even if it was only in my head. I told myself to stop worrying and shrugged it off like I had for the past couple of weeks, but I didn’t like the idea of one of Adam’s friends hating me for no reason. Still, I forced myself to walk away without giving her another thought. Even she wasn’t going to bring me down after my talk with my editor.

“Hey, Moby!” I threw out as I passed him.

“Hey, Katherine,” he grunted quietly while remaining focused on his task. Moby was a hard worker, but he knew how to turn on the charm once the crowd arrived. I enjoyed him even though we had maybe said a total of ten words to each other. He and Maverick had an easy banter behind the bar that was fun to watch. It seemed Maverick had that kind of friendship with all of his friends, though.

I made it to the office where I heard two male voices. One voice belonged to Maverick, and the other I was guessing was Corbin. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I headed back out to the bar where Moby offered me up a vodka tonic while I waited.

“You hanging out tonight, Katherine?” he asked while I sipped my drink.

“Not sure. Only if the band’s good.”

“Then you might want to jet. It’s open mic night.” He laughed and shook his head with a look that said open mic night never went well.

“Hey. You never know what kind of talent could come across the stage. Why is it open mic night on a Friday instead of a band playing?”

“Corbin talked Adam into trying something new. I guess they have some good acts signed up or whatever. We’ll see.”

“Duchess,” Maverick said as he came into the bar from the hallway, leaving Corbin in the office behind him. “I didn’t know you were here. Why didn’t you come to the office?”

“I did, but I didn’t want to interrupt.” He came over and kissed me, but I pulled away before it could get too heated like our greetings tended to do, even if people were around. Adam didn’t mind PDA. Adam was the kind of guy who didn’t care what anyone thought about him, hence the nickname. It was one of my favorite things about him. “I have some good news.”

“Yeah?” His hands rested on my thighs while he moved to stand between my legs. It was hard to stay focused in this position, but the inquisitive look on his face reminded me of what I wanted to tell him.

“My editor wants me full-time. I have a meeting on Monday to work it all out.”

His face lit up with a smile that matched mine. “That’s great,” he said, giving my thighs a little squeeze. “You want to go out and celebrate tonight? They don’t need me here until later.”

Out? No. I wanted to go up to his loft and celebrate right there, but I wasn’t about to say that in front of Moby and Dee. “No. I just came to share the news. Besides, Moby was telling me about all the great acts you guys have lined up for open mic night tonight.” I gave Moby a wink, and his dark eyes sparkled with humor.

Maverick’s eyes flicked over to Moby. “Yeah, right. Moby hates open mic night.”

“That he does,” Moby added. “Take your girl to celebrate. She just landed a big job. Don’t sit around here listening to semi-talented kids trying to be the next Pearl Jam.”

“Yeah,” Dee butted into the conversation. “Take your girl out to celebrate, Adam.” And just when I thought she was being nice she added, “Maybe she can take you out on Daddy’s dime.”

My head whipped around just as Maverick snapped, “Dee!”

“What? Don’t act like you all don’t find it funny that you’re going to celebrate that the spoiled rich girl landed her first job. I mean, you call her Duchess, for fuck’s sake. Get over yourselves.”

“Don’t be a bitch, Dee,” Adam scolded. “Come on, Katherine.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the door. “You and I will talk later, Dee. Try not to piss anyone else off tonight.”

Out on the sidewalk, he led me to his car and held the door open for me to get in the passenger seat. I didn’t move. Suddenly, I didn’t feel much like celebrating. I wasn’t angry about what Dee said. She was right, and suddenly, I felt like a complete idiot. Here I was, excited about getting a job, when everyone else in Maverick’s life had been working since his or her teens, probably. I was a fool.

Instead of climbing in the car, I stopped and said, “Maybe we shouldn’t do this. I think I just need to go home.”

He sighed with what seemed like annoyance. “Don’t do this, Duchess. Don’t listen to Dee. She’s just a bitch with a chip on her shoulder.”

I frowned. “Is what she said true? You call me Duchess because you think I’m a spoiled rich girl living off Daddy’s money?”

“No, I know you aren’t. She—”

“Because she’s right,” I interrupted him. “I’ve never had a real job. Never needed one. What’s worse is my father would make me quit if he knew about this one. You know what’s really shitty? I have a little over a week to figure out how to pay my own bills because my father plans to cut me off. Ha! It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted, and I’m completely terrified because I don’t even know how to pay my cell phone bill. Dee may have been rude about it, but she was telling the truth. My father has paid for everything in my life. I’m twenty-eight years old, and I haven’t so much as paid for my own dinner before.” My heart was pounding, and suddenly I couldn’t think straight. All I could think about was the fact I was going to be homeless and possibly without Maverick. I couldn’t breathe. Reality was crashing down on me.

“Katherine…babe, calm down. Come here.” He held me against his chest until my breathing returned to normal. Then he whispered into my hair, “I call you Duchess because the first time I saw you, I thought you could have been royalty. You were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and you were so perfect and graceful. The way you sat with your posture just so and the way you carried yourself with such confidence, it was like I was meeting a queen. You didn’t have the ego of a queen, and you weren’t a child like a princess. You’re a duchess, my duchess.”

I looked up at him with tears clouding my vision. “That’s so nice.”

“Hey,” he breathed as he took my face between his warm hands. “We’re going to dinner to celebrate and maybe talk about everything else you just threw out there. Then I’m going to take you home and lay you out to do unspeakable things to you. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll have forgotten about anything but me.”

My lips almost lifted into a smile while my head nodded on its own accord. “That sounds like a good plan.”

He took me to dinner at a French restaurant where his friend was the chef. I had been there before, but the experience was completely different with Maverick. First, he ordered champagne and made a toast to my new job, celebrating it as promised, which still felt a little silly to me. Once he ordered our dinner, in French by the way, he then asked about the “everything else” part.

“So, what do you mean your dad is cutting you off, and it’s what you wanted, but you’re terrified?”

I stared ahead, wishing I had never allowed myself to lose my composure like that. Kitty Peters would have never told anyone her private business, I told myself. I wasn’t that girl anymore, though. For better or for worse, the girl I had let myself become over the last couple of weeks felt like she could be honest. She could let people in. She could trust Maverick.

I spoke without looking up at him. Discussing my pathetic life felt humiliating. They said the truth hurts, but it was saying the words out loud that was painful. “My parents tried to choose a husband for me. They’ve controlled every aspect of my life up until the night I came to your bar. That night I told my dad I wasn’t going to marry some stranger that they picked for me. He told me I had a month to figure out how to live without his help or I’d have to do what he asked.”

“Okay…” I looked up at him and saw him trying to come up with the right thing to say.

I kept talking, but this time I looked him in the eye. “I just wanted to be able to make my own decisions. I’m an adult and can’t even pick my own food when we go out to eat. They’ve made sure I know nothing about money. I’ve had a personal shopper since I was a child. I was lucky to be able to get my driver’s license.” I laughed humorlessly. “My mother had to talk my father into it. He didn’t see the point if I had a driver at my beck and call.” I paused. “I can’t even imagine how useless I must seem to you.”

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “It is a little strange that you’ve never done anything for yourself, simply because the life I’ve led has been so different from yours, but I would never think you’re useless.”

“The irony is that I’ve been alone for most of my life. My parents were never around, but somehow they knew everything and controlled everything. Writing these articles is the first thing that’s really mine, and I can’t even use my own name.”

His eyes lit up with determination. “Now you can. Screw them. If they can’t see how amazing you are, then find a way to make yourself happy.”

“I wouldn’t be happy homeless, Adam,” I said dryly.

“You can come stay with me. We’re together every night anyway.”

My heart picked up the pace at his offer. Living with Maverick? I could get on board with that, even if it seemed too soon. I wanted to be with him all the time, anyway, but his offer didn’t feel right, at least not at this time. “I’m not going to stay with you because I have nowhere else to go. I have people I can stay with if it comes to that.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to the spot just below my ear that had been known to turn me on when he simply breathed on it. “How about you come stay with me because you’re crazy about me and don’t want to be anywhere but where I am? That’s why I’d want you there.”

I smiled and leaned into him. “It sounds great,” I told him honestly, because it did sound great. It was like a fairy tale that I had found this man, who seemed so perfect for me, but there was a niggling in the back of my brain that wouldn’t let go. “But I don’t want to go from depending on my dad to depending on you. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”

He pulled my hand to his lips. “We will figure it out. I’ll help you however you let me. You know that, right?”

“Yes.” I moved my hand away so I could kiss him gently. “Thank you for listening. This helped.”

“Now, do I get to spread you out and make you forget?” The damn smirk was back, and paired with dark, lust-filled eyes that did unspeakable things to me.

“Yes, please,” I begged right before he grabbed my hand and pulled me from the restaurant.

And I did…forget, that is. Maverick made me forget everything, including my own name that night.