CHAPTER 20

I come slowly awake, taking in the soft sheets of Ford’s bed and the pillowy mattress that’s like sleeping on a heavenly cloud. I roll over, open my eyes, and see Ford’s side of the bed is empty. I can’t help the smile that comes to my face as I remember everything about the last several hours.

How Ford showed a definite jealousy that he’d never admit out loud, leading to us promising exclusivity until my time is up here. I’m not sure what will happen then, but I know it’s going to be difficult to part ways. As long as Ford left things casual, I could keep my heart protected. But he’s moved us out of that space and put us straight into a situation where I could get hurt. I don’t think Ford is relationship material, but I can’t lie and say I’m not hoping something will change. I mean… this beautiful, successful man who is a sex god in every way wants only me right now when he’s normally the whore of the club. I hate for it to mean that much to me, but I’m such a girl… it does.

“You’re awake.” I roll over to see Ford walking into the bedroom, fully dressed with damp hair. He’s holding a cup of coffee that he sets on the nightstand by me, then sits down on the edge of the bed near my hip.

“How do you feel this morning?” he asks with a self-satisfied, cocky grin.

Bastard should feel cocky. I don’t know how many times he made me come last night. The first time while he had me sit on his desk, then again when he fucked me while I bent over it. After that, he buzzed up Antonette, who was working the podium with me, and told her I wouldn’t be returning.

Caveman Ford picked me up and brought me to his apartment, where we had sex—I kid you not—three more times. I didn’t know men could do that. It wasn’t successive, one right after the other. But we’d have sex, then talk, doze off and sleep a little. Then he’d wake up, put his hands on me, and it was on again. We repeated that pattern three freaking times, the last time occurring about seven AM. A quick glance at the clock tells me it’s half past one PM now.

I give him a smile. “I feel great.”

“Not sore?” he asks.

“Nope,” I lie.

“So if I stripped down now, climbed between your legs, and shoved my cock in you, would you scream in pain or pleasure?” he asks, and geez… I know he has no intention of doing that because he’s dressed to the nines for business, but damn if the throb between my legs doesn’t want him to.

“I’d scream in pleasure,” I assure him.

He lifts an eyebrow at me as if I’ve wounded his dick’s pride. “Well, to be on the safe side, I’ll manage to wait until tonight to have you again.”

“You’re so kind,” I say dryly, then my brow furrows. “You want me to stay over again?”

By his confused expression, I can tell the question caught him off guard. I think Ford only knows he’s going to fuck me sometime tonight, but he hadn’t given much thought as to when and where or if he’d invite me to stay.

Before he can answer, I sit up in the bed a little more and stop any potential discomfort he’s in from putting him on the spot. “I can’t stay tonight. I promised Connie we’d do something special all day tomorrow, so I need to get home right after my shift.”

Ford’s eyes go soft, but I can see a level of disappointment in them. “Of course. Totally understand. Guess I’ll just have to sneak some time in with you while you’re on duty.”

“Sounds good,” I say with a smile as I start to sit up in the bed.

Ford turns and grabs the coffee, handing it to me. “Cream and one sugar, right?”

I smile brilliantly at him. “Very good.”

“I’m observant,” he says by way of explanation. “That’s how you made your coffee yesterday.”

True enough. We drank coffee together in his kitchen before I headed home to get showered and spend some time with Connie and Mom before I had to come back to work.

Ford looks at his watch, and then says, “I’ve got to get going. Got a meeting across town in an hour, and I’ve got some paperwork to finish first.”

He leans over and kisses me. When he pulls back, he doesn’t pull back very far, our noses just inches from each other. “I enjoyed last night.”

Four simple words, and they make me feel all warm and squishy.

“Me too,” I murmur back.

“Okay,” he says with one last quick kiss. “I’m out of here. Take your time leaving. The door will lock behind you.”

“‘Kay,” I mutter as I sip at my coffee and watch his gorgeous backside in tailored navy-blue pants paired with a crisp white dress shirt as he walks out of the room.

When I hear him leave the apartment, I settle into the pillows propped up on the headboard and drink my coffee, contemplating how very strange my life has become. At best, my life could have been called satisfying. I had a respectable job with good benefits working as a receptionist in a dentist’s office, I owned my own home and had a network of causal friends I could hang out with and do fun things. My best friend, Chloe, lives in Germany now as her husband is in the Army and got transferred there, but we text daily, talk on the phone at least once a week, and Skype as well, I mean… life was good.

Of course, there were stressors but aren’t there always? I wasn’t even surprised by Daena abandoning Connie. While suddenly becoming a surrogate mom was a little overwhelming, I wouldn’t trade my time with Connie for anything. In fact, I think she was supposed to be with us at the time Daena chose to abandon her, because of her illness. My mom and I took far better care of her than Daena ever could have. I’m ashamed to say that about my sister, but I’m not sure Connie would have survived if she hadn’t left her behind with us.

With a sigh, I take a sip of coffee and think about Ford. He took my ordinary life and turned it upside down. Within a week’s time, I went from my most exciting night involving club hopping and maybe having a one-night stand I always regretted the next morning, to a woman who has shamelessly let a man control her entire sexuality.

I let Ford have sex with me in front of other people.

I let Ford and Kenneth have sex with me in front of other people.

While my face heats up thinking about it, I can’t disregard the fact that the things that have happened to me this week have been the most exhilarating, liberating moments of my life. I’m sad that there’s going to be an end to this. I think I have more awakening left within me. Being in this atmosphere where kink and debauchery are the norm without any judgment makes me want to take advantage of everything Ford will teach me. And I want that knowing I can leave in a few weeks’ time and never see anyone in this club ever again. It will be like a grand adventure, but one I can easily close the door on when I’m done.

Well, at least I think I could if it weren’t for a gorgeous, orgasmic, charming alpha man who seems to want me.

Ugh.

I don’t want to linger on it anymore. Last night was amazing and tomorrow night will be amazing. But now it’s time for me to go back to my ordinary life. My mom is cool and won’t give me the stink eye for not coming home the last few nights because I’m an adult and she treats me as such. I’ve always made sure she was fine with Connie, and while I’ve not told her any details about Ford, I think she’s got some romantic notion I might have found “the one” since I’ve spent three nights with him. But I was telling him the truth about needing to go home tonight as tomorrow is going to be a Connie day and I want to devote myself to her.

Setting my almost-empty cup down on the table, I reluctantly put on my black dress and underwear Ford had taken off. The club opens at two PM, which one might think is odd and wasted because who wants to go have kinky sex in the middle of the day? But surprisingly, there’s a decent-sized crowd during daylight hours. Mostly people who are seriously into their sexual fantasies and make liberal use of their memberships. I’m sure many are for adulterous liaisons too. The night crowd swells with mainly tourists looking to check off a bucket list item or something. Still, I need to stop in the locker room and get my bag of street clothes I had worn in yesterday before shift as I’d had to come straight here from running errands. Hopefully I can minimize my walk of shame by sneaking in, changing clothes, and hightailing it out of here. It’s no secret Ford and I are sexually involved, but I still don’t want it flaunted.

I take my cup to the kitchen, rinse it out, and put it in Ford’s dishwasher. Grabbing my purse, I sling it over my shoulder and head out of his apartment, making sure the door locks behind me. I quickly walk past Ford’s office and then pop into the locker room to change clothes.

Unfortunately, the room isn’t empty. It’s occupied by three ladies, all who work condiment trays. I don’t know them at all. In fact, I only know two of the women’s names, Winnie and Calliope. The work here is fast paced and solitary, so it’s not conducive to forging friendships among employees. After shifts, people rush out, or they may take advantage of the club membership. Either way, I’ve barely said a handful of words to any of these girls, but I give them a friendly smile when I walk in. They’re in the process of getting undressed and had clearly been talking and joking about something, but they went deadly silent when I walked in. They don’t smile back at me.

I ignore them, open my locker, and grab my bag out, heading to one of the dressing rooms. This is a unisex locker room, which is the reason for privacy stalls, but many of the staff don’t take advantage of it and just dress out in the main area. I guess the whole being uninhibited sexually thing applies to nudity as well.

Making quick work of changing into my jeans and a black t-shirt with “Joie de Vivre” printed on it, I put on flat sandals studded with coral and turquoise beads. It’s my go-to casual wear. After putting my dress and heels away, I zip up my bag and make my way out of the dressing room.

Only to come to a complete halt as all three of the women, Winnie, Calliope, and I-Have-No-Clue-Who, are standing there and glaring at me. Because I’ve never interacted with these girls much, and because I know I’ve done nothing to piss them off personally, I can only assume this is about Ford.

I let out a sigh of frustration before straightening my spine and crossing my arms. “What’s up?”

“We’re just wondering how you’ve managed to get Ford’s attention for so long,” the girl whose name I don’t know asks snottily.

“I’m sorry… but what’s your name?” I ask without answering her question.

“Lash,” she snaps at me.

“Well, Lash,” I say in a calm voice, then turn to look at Winnie and Calliope, “I’m just going to have to tell you ladies it’s none of your business what’s going on between Ford and me.”

“Well, you’ve done something because Rudy’s not one to do repeats,” Winnie says as she puts a hand on her hip and cocks it out. This is a bit disconcerting to me as she’s standing in her bra and panties, and besides that… Rudy? I’m fairly confident he does not go by that ridiculous nickname.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t call him something so stupid,” I reply. “It’s probably a turn-off.”

“You fucking bitch,” Winnie practically screeches and takes a threatening step toward me. Now I’m very uncomfortable with the situation, so I take a step back.

“What do you expect?” Calliope adds. She’s at least still fully clothed, so it’s not awkward to look to her. “Ford probably lost a bet. Or she’s into some super kinky shit none of us has seen before and he’s fascinated with it. But honestly…”

And here she pauses to rake a scathing look up and down me with a curl to her lip before she continues, “She’s not much to look at. I think that’s why we can’t figure it out.”

“Good point,” Winnie sneers, also looking at me as if I’m covered in fleas or something. “But just like any woman in here who has a taste of that man, she’s nothing but a live sex doll to him. So honey, just be ready… he’ll kick you to the curb as soon as he gets tired of your worn-out pussy.”

My shoulders slump a little because these jabs cut. Compared to these women, I’m not sure why Ford is with me. Winnie’s tall and buxom with boobs that are in the DD range. Her hair is the perfect color of blond, her facial features superb, and I’ve seen her give a blow job to a guy in the club. She’s good. Calliope has gorgeous red hair that falls almost to her ass in fiery curls, emerald green eyes that would give Ford’s a run for his money, and I’ve seen her in action a time or two. These girls are dirty, kinky, and adventurous. Lash is also stunning, a blond as well but her hair is so pale it’s white. She looks almost elfin, the kind of beauty that looks almost fantastical, made more so by the fact she actual has violet-colored eyes. I’ve never seen that before, and I’m kind of fascinated and equally jealous.

I don’t have a response to their last barb, so I hitch my bag and purse over my shoulder and start to push past them. Thankfully, they step aside and when I look up, I come to a screeching halt.

Ford is standing there, his eyes blazing with fury and I’m not sure how it’s possible, but he looks even bigger. Even though he glares over my shoulder at the women I’d just walked past, I’m still intimidated as shit by the fury that radiates from him.

“Winnie, Calliope, Lash.” He says each of their names, and I’m stunned at how calm he sounds despite the expression on his face. “You’re all fired. Effectively immediately.”

“What?” Lash gasps in shock. “You can’t do that.”

“I can and I did,” Ford says brusquely. “Now get dressed and vacate the premises. Your final paycheck will be mailed to you.”

Winnie and Calliope’s heads drop, their faces crestfallen as they walk past Ford. But Lash is a little spitfire. She growls at Ford as she struts past him, “You’re a dick.”

Ford laughs at her, and it sounds cruel and amused. To add insult to the injury he just handed out as the ladies go to their lockers, he says, “And for the record… I think rather than finding out what Thalia has to keep me coming back, you should be asking yourselves what you didn’t have that made you just a one-time fuck.”

I wince, because that was crude. Calliope and Winnie’s shoulders sag, and they don’t waste time getting their things. Lash mumbles under her breath but loud enough to be heard. “Such a fucking dick.”

Ford turns his gaze to mine, his eyes now soft and possibly empathetic. I don’t want any part of it, especially not in front of these women. I jet past him and run out of the locker room, intent on getting the hell out of there before any more attacks come my way.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Ford says as he grabs me by the elbow just as I enter the hallway. He turns me around and starts to march me toward his office. I feel like a kid being taken to the principal’s office again, and I wonder if I’ll get paddled.

Now why the fuck did I just think that?

Once we’re inside, he releases his hold on me and asks, “Are you okay?”

My eyes narrow as I hiss at him. “I’m completely humiliated. Otherwise, I’m okay. I can’t believe you fired them for that.”

“Why not?’ he asks as he pushes his hands casually into the pockets of pants. “I’m the boss. They were being bitches to you. I kind of thought you might be happy about it.”

“You do realize I’m going to be the club’s pariah now?” I snap at him. “It’s clear people don’t like me because I have your attention, but now they’re really going to hate me when they find out you fired those girls because they were a little catty with your current flavor of the month.”

“That’s not what you are.” He looks pained and troubled, but I’m not sure why. He’s the one with relationship boundaries.

“That’s exactly what I am,” I say softly, but the force of my reminder hits him hard. This deal is only for a month.

He looks at me warily, but he inclines his head in acknowledgment. “What would you have me do?”

Without thought, I jerk my head toward the door. “Go back and rescind their termination.”

Ford’s eyes go wide with surprise, and I can see instant denial in them. I bet he’s a man who never goes back on a decision once it’s made. We enter a stare-off, and I cross my arms for stubborn effect.

Finally, he blows out a huff of resignation and drawls, “Fine. I’ll go tell them now.”

“Good,” I say with a snippy attitude. I’m not sure why since he just gave me what I asked for, but that’s how it comes out.

This causes his eyes to darken and his lips to curl. “I expect gratitude for this tonight, not attitude.”

I roll my eyes at him, but I don’t have a problem showing him some gratitude. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.