Cat Haus - The Complete Story (20 page)

Henry's entry into the parlor caught my attention. When his gaze found me, my heart soared. Had John sent him for me?

"Cate." Henry tipped his head toward the hallway and I leapt from my seat on the sofa.

Sahara let out a short laugh. "One summons from the boss and you're all better."

I ignored Sahara as I made my way toward the front hall. She was right, of course. Even just the hope that John had sent Henry for me made my heart race. I thanked God Tiffany was busy with a client or she would have noticed the same thing. She hated me enough already without my rubbing it in her face that I was the girl the owner chose to spend his time with.

"Yeah?" I hated that I sounded breathless as I asked the question of Henry.

"John would like to see you upstairs."

I drew in a breath as my heart beat impossibly faster. "Thanks."

It was ridiculous. I swear it was as if I was some idiotic schoolgirl vying for the attention of the hot jock when it came to John. This wasn't how hookers thought about male attention, but it was how I thought about him.

The door was open when I reached the top of the stairs. I walked in, excited and hesitant. John stood by the area of the kitchenette set up like a bar, a bottle in his hand.

He didn't turn around as he asked, "Drink?"
 

"No, thank you."

When he did turn toward me, there was no smile. "How's work been?"

"Fine."

"You done for tonight?"

"Yes." Close enough anyway. It was the late. Officially I should be on for another hour tonight, but the other girls could handle anything that came through the door. Gus had never worried about yanking one of us out of the parlor during a shift to service him.

That I'd just compared Gus and John's behavior and found any similarities at all was an indication that things didn't feel right between us. I'd never felt so uncomfortable in John's presence ever.

"How have you been? Work going okay?" I asked, as if this were any normal conversation. It could be a friend talking to a friend, and not a hooker and her boss.

"Work is work." He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. His dark gaze met mine with an intensity that negated his attempt at appearing casual. "Henry told me about your
private booking
."

I knew exactly to what he was referring and I cringed. "He probably shouldn't have."

"And why not?" His words sounded harsh.

I wondered if Henry had made an error suggesting this plan with Ty, and if I should have used better judgment and rejected the offer.

"I realize we're dancing along the edge of law by doing this. If we get violated for it, they could shut us down. I would have liked if you could have claimed ignorance and blamed it all on me. It could save your license and the business."

"That's why you didn't want me to know? To save the business?"

"Of course. I'll take on risk myself, but I don't want to cost everyone else their livelihood."

The corner of John's mouth lifted. "Always looking out for everyone, aren't you?"

Now it was my turn to shrug. "Who else do I have to look out for?"

"Yourself, for one." He took a swallow of amber liquid and plunked the heavy glass onto the counter.

John had long legs, and a few strides brought him to me. He grabbed my wrists and held them above my head as he pushed me against the closed door of the apartment. "Tell me what you've done since I saw you last."

His face was close to mine. I felt the heat of his breath against my face as he leaned low to question me.

"I worked."

"I know. I'm your boss. I know exactly how many men you were hired by yesterday and today. I even saw one of them. He lifted you up and spun you around like you were some loving couple in a damn movie. You seem to keep your clients happy. So tell me, Cate, what did you do with him that has him so eager to see you?"

He pressed against me and I felt his hard-on as he lowered his mouth to my neck. His teeth latched on to my throat, before he eased up and pulled back, waiting for his answer.

"He booked two hours."

"And?"

"And what?" What was John looking for from me? I sure as hell didn't know.

"What did you two do?"

"We had sex."

A crooked smile that lacked warmth or humor twisted his mouth. "Come now, Cate. I know exactly how well spoken you can be. Use your eloquence now. Use that English degree you worked so hard for and tell me—you walked him into your room, shut the door, and then?"

My heart thundered. I didn't remember telling him about my degree, which meant he'd researched me. Why? That was as confusing to me as why he demanded the details of my time with a client. And why his need for this information seemed somehow connected to the erection I felt pressing into me.

"He picked me up and carried me to the bed—"

John's snort of a laugh stopped me. "Picked you up again? He likes to do that, apparently. Go on."

This was a clear case of
be careful what you wish for
. There were many times I'd wanted to see emotion in John when we talked together. Now, as I heard the hard tone in his words, I regretted every time I'd wished for a crack in the controlled businessman facade.

"He laid me on the bed and told me to leave my clothes on. That he liked them."

John nodded. "Understandable. I saw what you had on."

"He pushed my skirt up and took my underwear off. Then he . . ." I swallowed, surprised at how hard it was for me to describe all this to John. ". . . he went down on me."

"Did you come?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Continue."

"Then he fucked me."

"Position?"

"Missionary."

He tipped head to one side and studied me. "Face to face. Of course. You're beautiful. Why wouldn't he want to see you?"

I had no comment on this strange behavior on John's part, so I remained quiet. He didn't. "What else? Surely that didn't fill two hours."

"No. We talked about his offer. Then we had anal." I left out the part about how Ty had made me come some hard during that, I thought I'd pass out.

"Did you blow him?"

"No."

"Did he kiss you while you were with him?"

"No." I remembered the parlor and how John had said he'd seen us together and added, "Just on the cheek when he first arrived."

"Hm. All right." He released his hold on me and took a step back.

As much as I'd hated the way he was acting, I felt worse now he wasn't touching me. I was completely at a loss for what to do next. I didn't know what he expected of me.

"John?"

He'd moved back to the counter and picked up his drink. "Yes, Cate."

"I missed seeing you last night." God, I sounded like a stupid schoolgirl. I'd felt it, so I'd said it. I needed to stop doing shit like that.

John's chin dropped to his chest. He massaged his forehead with two fingers of one hand before he looked up at me. "Come here."

I went, though I wasn't sure what to expect once I'd crossed the space and reached him.

He drew me into his arms and rested his head against the top of mine. I felt the breath he drew expand his chest beneath my cheek.

"Ah, Cate. Hell of a pair we make."

Wrapping my arms around him, I didn't want to ever leave. All the strangeness between us moved to the back of my mind, hidden behind my joy at being in his embrace. I squeezed him tighter.

"When is your next shift?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Good." John drew back and dipped his head low. He lifted my chin with his thumb and forefinger and met my gaze before he pressed his mouth to mine.

Boneless, I leaned into him. I could have melted into a puddle right there on his hardwood floor from how John's kisses made me feel. It had always been this way, from the very beginning.

"Let's go to bed. It's late."

I undressed myself and slipped between the cool sheets naked. John did the same from his side of the bed, like we were some old, long married couple. One more time tonight I was at a loss what to do so I followed his cues. John moved toward the center of the bed, and so did I. He wrapped his arm around me. I leaned into him. He kissed me and yeah, I kissed him too. Then he drew back.

"Get some sleep, Cate."

Sleep?

My mouth opened but I wasn't quite sure what to say. "Did you want to . . ." The sentence trailed off even as I traced my finger down his chest, to his belly where I paused.

"We have all morning tomorrow. I don't have to leave for the airport until noon." He settled deeper into his pillow and closed his eyes as I lay next to him, baffled.

I'd pondered yesterday if he had a wife back home and what it was like for her to say goodbye to him before one of his many business trips.

Little did I know then that today I wouldn't have to wonder how she felt, if she existed at all. Right now, I knew exactly what it was like to be left by John, even if he was still here.

I don't usually sleep deeply on a good day, but I definitely didn't tonight. Not with all the crap spinning through my brain, and with John beside me.

That I was still awake, lying on my side and counting the hours until noon when he'd leave, was probably why I felt it—his length press against me. I didn't know if it was a natural reflex or caused by a naughty dream, and I didn't care. I planned to take advantage of it and pressed back against him.

Strange mood or not, asleep or awake, John was still a man and he groaned in response to the feel of me rubbing against his hardness. It didn't take long before the man himself was as awake as his body. I closed my eyes at the feel of his hand moving over my hip, then down to my thigh. He lifted my leg and pressed his length inside me.

In the dark quiet of the apartment, it was easy to concentrate on every sensation. The warmth of his palm against my skin. The hitch in his breath as he first thrust inside. And of course, the feeling of being filled by this man that went far beyond my pussy and seemed to spread as far as my heart and into my soul.

Yeah, it was good he was leaving soon. My job would take care of my physical needs, but my heart and my soul both needed some distance from him.

CHAPTER 17

I thought I'd feel better about this strange situation with John after we had sex. I didn't. Things were as weird and up in the air as ever when he said goodbye and strode off in his serious businessman suit into his practical black rental car.

It had been over a week since he'd left to catch his flight home—or so he'd said. Hell, he could be off to life number three—or wife number three, for all I knew. John could roam the country like a carnie, spending one week a month with each of his four women. A hooker here. A wife and kids there. A girlfriend somewhere else. Maybe a fiancée in another place.

And what if he did? Not my business. Not my problem. He was my boss full-time and my lover part-time. I needed to write that on a sticky note and hang it on the mirror in my room so I could repeat it to myself until I believed it. Until I did, I was happy to have something to do to occupy my restless mind since work didn't seem to do it.

I was packing for my week in the city with Ty. I didn't know what he had planned, but I figured, aside from lingerie for when we were in bed, I wouldn't be decked out like I usually was in the parlor the rest of the time.

I had no clue what it would be like. Room service in the hotel room three meals a day? Or would we be able to run out and grab a bite without the press hassling him? Hassling me too, I suppose, just for being with him. In any case, I decided to pack an array of items to get me through the week.

I threw in a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt to lounge around and read in while Ty was out training. My good suit went into the bag as well. In case I needed to accompany him somewhere public, I figured that would make me look more like a press secretary and less like a prostitute. After a bit of debate, I put in one great black dress with black heels and a string of pearls, in case we went somewhere nice.

Standing back, I eyed the bulging bag. I was an idiot. I was going there for the week so it would be more convenient for him to fuck me, rather than him driving all the way to the Cat Haus. Bringing anything more than lingerie, toys and a small bag of toiletries was stupid.

Since I was driving and not flying, I guess it didn't matter that I had grossly over packed. Ty didn't seem the type to judge me for that. Hell, if nothing else, I could dress up just for him in the privacy of our room. I knew from experience he enjoyed a bit of role play. I could be his secretary. The one he'd lusted after but didn't dare touch . . . until now. Or maybe I'd be a sexy stranger at a cocktail party who he picked up for a one-night stand.

The more I thought about the possibilities, the more I liked the idea. Smiling, I zipped the bag.

One more shift here and then I'd be off to my working vacation. Even though I'd be at Ty's beck and call twenty-four/seven it would still be enough of a change from here it would feel like I wasn't really working. It wasn't as if having sex with Ty was a hardship. The man gave as good as he got, so even his affection for being inside my ass didn't bother me.