The Cost of Love Read online

  “Sorry about that,” Jason said when they were outside and walking away from the club.

  “About what?”

  “Sam. He’s a good guy, but he’s not shy when he’s attracted to a woman. He can come on a bit strong.”

  Charlotte smiled. “I didn’t mind. It was kind of nice, being flirted with.”

  When Jason didn’t reply, she looked up at him. He was staring at the ground. “Would you like to go out with Sam?” he said, his gaze still down. “I didn’t think, but you and I, we’re not... I mean, if you’re interested in him, it’s not my business to...”

  “Oh no,” she said quickly. “I’m not, he’s very handsome and everything, but I’m not interested. In that way. No.”

  Now she was staring at the ground, embarrassed. She glanced at Jason. He was smiling at her.

  “Okay,” he said.

  She smiled back. “Okay.” The tension gone, she laughed, lifting her arms into the air and twirling around. “That was so much fun!”

  “Even when women kept coming on to me when I was obviously with you?”

  She took his hand, leading him along the street away from the club, her feet dancing to remembered music. “Especially then.” She tapped her finger on his chest. “You were awesome.”

  He smiled. “I’m glad you had a good time. I don’t go to clubs much anymore. It was fun being there with you.”

  She bit her lip and looked at the ground ahead of them as they walked. “At least you didn’t have any competition.”

  “Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how many guys I had to stare down who had their eye on you, even before the band? I was afraid to leave you alone.”

  “You’re just teasing me now,” she said, smiling.

  He stopped walking, gently tugging on her hand to turn her towards him. “I’m telling the truth. Whether you realise it or not, you are a beautiful, sexy woman.”

  Charlotte gasped, staring up at him. There was no way he meant it. Was there?

  Before she could reply, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was so unexpected that she didn’t move. Then it was over as abruptly as it had begun and she was left staring up at him in shock.

  “Was that okay?” he said, searching her eyes.

  He hadn’t moved away and she could feel the heat of his body radiating between them.

  She drew in a shaky breath. “Yes. I mean, it was more than okay.” She dropped her gaze. “But I feel like you’re just doing this because you’ve been paid to be with me.”

  He touched his fingertips to her chin and raised her face to look at him. “We made a deal that you have to believe what I tell you. So you have to believe me when I tell you that I like you a lot, and there is nothing I would rather do right now than kiss you. And I really hope that’s okay with you.”

  She stared into his incredibly blue eyes while her stomach bounced around her abdominal cavity. “It really is,” she breathed.

  “Good,” he said, smiling as he dipped his head and brushed his lips across hers again.

  Despite his words, her brain kept insisting he was being paid to do it, for about five seconds. After that, his mouth somehow managed to suck every thought from her head.

  She couldn’t remember closing her eyes, but she opened them again when his soft exploration of her lips came to a sudden halt. He looked down at her for a moment, his gaze darkening, flicking between her mouth and her eyes.

  “Charlotte,” he whispered.

  He bent his head again, capturing her lips in an insistent kiss. His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer. Almost of their own volition, her eyes closed and her mouth opened. Immediately, his tongue swept in, entwining with hers.

  Forgetting why he was with her or what would happen once he was gone, Charlotte gave in to the passion burning at her core.

  As she stood in the middle of the street, oblivious to everything else around her, being thoroughly kissed by the most wonderful man she’d ever met, Charlotte knew that for the first time in her life, she was in love.

  _ _ _

  “Were they good?”

  “Hmm?”

  Jason was only vaguely aware of Rob’s question as he closed the door behind him. Lost in the memory of holding Charlotte in his arms, he smiled and brushed the fingertips of his right hand across his still tingling lips. With his left, he dropped his keys absently into the bowl next to him. They missed and clattered onto the floor.

  “If she wakes up, you’re on your own,” Rob said.

  Jason snapped back to the present and glanced at the white door as he bent to pick up the keys.

  “So, were Brakedown good?”

  “Yeah, they were good,” Jason replied. “Thanks for staying in so I could go. I owe you.”

  “Yes, you do. And I trust you will remember that the next time I have a hot date with a girl I’m crazy about.”

  “I’m not crazy about Charlie.” It sounded unconvincing, even to him. He went into the tiny kitchen, grabbed a packet of cheesy puffs from the cupboard, and returned to sit on the sofa next to his brother.

  “Right, and I didn’t get the good looks in the family.”

  “So you’re agreeing with me.”

  “Ha. Ha. Not even close. What happened tonight?”

  Jason stopped munching on a puff, unable to prevent a smile creeping onto his face. “We kissed.”

  “That must have been some kiss. You’re walking around like a zombie with a stupid smile on its face.”

  Jason’s eyes unfocused as he stared at the TV screen, recalling Charlotte’s arms wrapped around him, the warmth of her lips, her taste. “It was incredible.”

  “Dude!”

  Jason started and looked at Rob to see his brother’s lap covered in cheesy puffs. “Oh, sorry.” He reached out to gather them up and Rob batted his hand away.

  “Mine now,” he said, popping a puff into his mouth. “Go and get yourself some more.”

  “Nah, I’m not hungry anyway. Here.” He handed the now mostly empty packet over and leaned back, closing his eyes and picturing Charlotte’s face raised towards him, her eyes closed, lips parted.

  “Oh yes, I can see how not crazy about her you are,” Rob said.

  Jason waved a hand dismissively and continued enjoying the beautiful image in his mind.

  DAY 4

  Charlotte stared into the mirror on her way to the door, smoothing her hair and running a hand down the front of her top. She was a little nervous.

  Jason had kissed her again when he dropped her off the night before. Now she wasn’t sure what to expect. Would they kiss first? Would it happen later? Would it happen at all?

  Swallowing her nerves, she opened the door. She needn’t have worried.

  Jason took one look at her, pushed his fingers into her hair on either side of her face and crushed his mouth to hers. After a couple of seconds his hands moved down her back, pulling her against him. Charlotte’s eyes fluttered closed as she melted blissfully into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing onto her toes.

  She had no idea how long the kiss lasted, it could have been hours, but when their lips finally parted she was panting for breath.

  “I know we were going to go out to eat,” she said, hyper aware that Jason’s arms were still firmly wrapped around her, “but maybe we could order a pizza, stay in and make out all evening.”

  She almost laughed at her boldness. Jason brought out a side of her she never even suspected existed.

  Still holding her against him with one arm, he reached for the door and pushed it shut behind him. Then he spoke against her lips, punctuating each word with a kiss. “Best... idea... ever.”

  An hour and a half later, they were stretched out on Charlotte’s sofa, nestled close. Jason’s arm was wrapped around her, her head resting against the front of his shoulder, rising and falling with his every breath. Her eyes were closed and she could feel his fingers stroking lazily up and down her arm, his breath warm agains
t her forehead, lips just touching her skin.

  She couldn’t remember anything feeling so completely right as lying in his arms.

  The remains of a pepperoni pizza lay scattered in a box on the coffee table and the aroma of melted cheese lingered in the room, but it was Jason’s scent that filled her. His cologne and, underlying that, his own headily masculine fragrance made her never want to take another breath without him near.

  “Can I ask you a question?” she said, keeping her voice soft in the comfortable hush of the room.

  “Of course,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

  “Why did you become an escort?”

  He didn’t answer immediately and Charlotte began to wonder if she shouldn’t have asked.

  “It was three years ago,” he said eventually. “I had just completed my law degree and I was about to start the next part of my training to become a solicitor. Then something happened, a family emergency, and I needed money quickly and more flexibility in when I worked. My cousin had a friend who was an escort part time, so I knew what I could make if I was good enough. It turned out I was, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Excuse the pun.”

  “Do you hate it?”

  She felt him smile against her skin. “No. Most of the time it’s okay. Some days are better than others. More often than not, my clients are just lonely.”

  She sighed. “Like me.”

  She felt his breath hitch and he moved his head back, touching his fingertips to her chin to lift her face.

  “Are you lonely?” he said, a slight frown on his face as he looked into her eyes.

  Tears were suddenly pricking her eyelids. She lowered her gaze.

  “You shouldn’t be lonely,” he said. “Not you. You’re an incredible woman. Any man would be lucky to have you as a girlfriend.”

  She sniffed, staring at a button on his shirt. “They’re not exactly lining up.”

  “They would be, if they knew you.”

  She lifted her eyes back to his face. “Would you?”

  He wiped at a tear rolling down her cheek with his thumb and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

  “In a heartbeat.”

  _ _ _

  Jason dropped his keys into the bowl by the door, walked to the sofa, and fell face down into the cushions. After a while he heard footsteps and the clinking of cutlery against ceramic.

  “Move up, Jay.”

  Something nudged his foot hanging off the side of the sofa and he drew it in and groaned as he sat up. Rob sat in the space his legs had vacated.

  “I can’t do it,” Jason said, leaning his head on the back of the sofa and closing his eyes.

  “Can’t do what?” Rob said around a mouthful of cereal.

  “I can’t keep going on like this with Charlie.”

  “I thought things were good. And tomorrow’s the last one, isn’t it?”

  “They are good. Tonight was...” he sighed, remembering the feeling of Charlotte wrapped in his arms, “tonight was incredible. It was one of those nights where everything goes right and you feel like you’re walking on air. Where the words ‘relationship’ and ‘future’ start coming into your mind.” He rubbed one hand down his face. “I think I’m falling in love.”

  “This would be the perfect time to say I told you so, but I won’t,” Rob said, crunching a mouthful of Frosties.

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Do you think she feels the same?”

  Jason rocked forward and leaned his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. “Her friend bought me for her. All I am is a good time with no strings. Why would someone like her fall for me?”

  “I didn’t ask if she could fall for you, I asked if she was falling for you. There is a difference.”

  Jason lapsed into silence, thinking. Charlotte certainly seemed to like him. The way she looked at him sometimes, her eyes seemingly lit from within, had made his heart flip more than once. Was there a chance she could feel the same way he did?

  He closed his eyes, shaking his head. Even if she did, he couldn’t ask her to accept him for what he was. And it wasn’t like he had a choice. The way things were now, he couldn’t walk away from being an escort even if he wanted to.

  Like it or not, this was his life now.

  And it didn’t, couldn’t, involve falling in love.

  DAY 5

  Charlotte stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom and cast a critical eye over her reflection. She needed to look perfect. She had to look perfect. Sadly, every inch of her was, in her eyes, imperfect.

  Raising a hand to smooth an errant lock of hair, she saw it trembling.

  “Stop it, Charlotte,” she told herself, clenching her fingers and holding her arms rigid at her sides. “You know him, you feel comfortable with him. That’s why you’re doing this. Don’t start freaking out now.”

  Taking a few deep breaths, she began to feel better.

  The doorbell rang. Her stomach simultaneously dropped to her feet and leapt into her mouth.

  She made it down the stairs without falling by hanging onto the banister with both hands. It only took two tries to get the key into the lock on the front door though. Score.

  The smile dropped from Jason’s face as soon as he saw her. His eyes swept over her short, deep blue strappy dress, down her legs, then made their way back up again.

  “Wow,” he whispered.

  She smiled, feeling her cheeks heating up. It was disappointing; she had thought she had the blushing thing under control. Not trusting her voice to work, she stepped aside to let him in.

  He had dressed up for their final date too. He was wearing a black suit, the silvery grey shirt underneath open at the collar. As they stood facing each other in the living room she tried to stop staring, but found that she couldn’t.

  He stepped close to her, took her right hand in his, and pressed it to his lips. “You take my breath away,” he said, smiling.

  She looked down, feeling the blood rush to her face. Again. “I can’t seem to stop blushing,” she said, with an embarrassed laugh.

  “Then don’t,” he said. “I love it when you blush. It’s adorable.” He drew in a breath, letting go of her and pushing his hands into his pockets. “So, what would you like to do tonight?”

  Never had she heard a more inadvertently loaded question. “I... um... Would you like a glass of wine?”

  “Sure.”

  He followed her into the kitchen, watching her take the glasses from the cupboard then leaping forward to catch the one that slipped from her trembling hands. He took the other one from her, placed them on the counter, and took her hands as she looked at the floor in humiliation.

  I am such an idiot.

  “What’s wrong?” he said, dipping his head to see into her eyes. “Have I done something to make you nervous?”

  “No, I...” Charlotte puffed out a breath, annoyed at herself. If she wanted to do this, and she did, then she needed to get herself together. Straightening, she pushed her shoulders back and looked up into his eyes. “I want you to make love to me.”

  She winced. ‘Make love?’

  Jason froze, his face etched in shock. “You... you do?”

  “If you don’t want to, I understand. You probably think it’s a bad idea. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Forget I said anything...” She stopped as he placed his finger on her lips.

  “Are you sure? You seem so scared. This is all about you, what you want. The last thing I want is for you to do something you don’t want to.”

  She gave a small laugh. “It’s just nerves. I don’t... I mean, I’m not used to doing this. But I do want to, very much.”

  He studied her for a few seconds before nodding and leading her from the kitchen, all thoughts of wine abandoned.

  “Uh, we don’t have to immediately,” she said, stopping as they reached the foot of the stairs. “I mean, we could eat first or...”

  He shook his head, pulling her close and kissing her before speaking
with his lips almost touching hers. “Believe me when I say, once I have my hands on you, I’m going to want to keep them there for as long as possible. So we should start now.” Giving her a sexy smile, he resumed leading her upstairs.

  Charlotte followed him, her heart pounding. When they reached the bedroom, he looked around. She’d tried to tidy up, but it wasn’t her strong point. It still looked like a whirlwind had sauntered through.

  Jason smiled. “I like this. It’s you.”

  She gave a small laugh. “It is that.” A sigh escaped her. “Do you want to do this? Because I don’t want you to feel like you have to, like it’s an obligation.”

  It was Jason’s turn to laugh. “Being with you is anything but an obligation.” He brushed his lips across hers then leaned down to whisper in her ear, “There is nothing I would like more than to make love to you.”

  The words sent a shiver skittering up her spine.

  He slipped his arms around her waist and drew her against him, pressing his lips to hers. The sensuous kiss sent electricity zinging through her body, lighting up pleasure centres everywhere. She felt a hardness pressing against her abdomen and shivered again at the feel of his arousal. Her doubts that he wanted her evaporated. This felt right, being with Jason. Even though he would soon be gone from her life, she wanted to experience this with him.

  As they kissed, his hands roamed down her back to cup her buttocks, the action starting a pulse throbbing inside her. His lips left her mouth to explore her neck and the breathy whimper she uttered surprised her. Forgetting to be shy, she grasped the edges of his jacket and pushed it from his shoulders before starting on the buttons of his shirt. Uncovering the body she’d been dreaming of for the past three days became of utmost importance.

  He stopped his kisses to watch her, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. Releasing the final button, she looked up at him.

  “I just got the idea there were too many clothes between us,” she said, shrugging.

  His gaze darkened. “I completely agree.”

  He shrugged off the shirt, throwing it onto a chair, and pulled her against his bare chest, his lips finding hers again. Her hands ran over warm, soft skin covering solid muscle. She was only vaguely aware of the zip at the back of her dress being pulled down, but when his hands slipped into the gap to touch her body, she gasped as every nerve fired at once.