Chapter Two
As much as Jamison loved these types of jobs, he had too much time to think. Angie only hired him to help her fall asleep. Then he would place pillows in his place and go. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop thinking about his encounter with Kace.
Angie’s husband had passed away a little over a year ago.
She had spent months unable to sleep properly after his death.
For fifteen years, she had slept in his arms. While Angie could tell her girlfriends about how hard it was to sleep, there was less than zero chance she would find a man who would cuddle with her without the expectation of sex.
She wasn’t ready for that. In fact, she wasn’t sure she would ever be.
All of that circled right back to Kace. Fuck that guy.
This job mattered. It left him fulfilled.
Each time he left Angie with her peacefully sleeping, he felt good about himself.
Just because he hadn’t needed ten years of college or whatever, that didn’t make his job any less important. People died of broken hearts too.
Jamison had spent twenty years in the Army, from the age of eighteen.
He had been deployed eight times in those years before he retired.
He knew all about stress, feeling helpless, and generally living at his breaking point.
Jamison didn’t want that any longer. This was a peaceful career.
He had been at it for two years and it made him feel good.
Sometimes, people wanted to talk. Others just wanted to be held for the sake of human contact.
Then there were people like Angie. No matter the client, his life was better now, and he genuinely believed he made other people’s lives better too. Fuck. He couldn’t stop harping on it.
When Jamison was certain Angie slept, he slipped from the bed and went through his usual routine of moving pillows before sneaking out and locking the door behind him.
He waited until he was in his truck to turn on his phone.
Jamison always kept the device off while he was with clients.
They paid for his full attention and they got it.
He had missed a call from an unknown number, a text from his ex, and a text from the same unknown number.
Jamison sent the text from his ex straight to the trash without reading it before he opened the other one.
Unknown number: This is Kace. I got your number from Haven.
I didn’t want to message you through the app where I hired you, in case anyone else can see those.
Anyhow, I owe you a huge apology. I tried to call and tell you myself.
You’re probably like me and don’t answer calls from unknown numbers.
I just wanted to say that I hired you because I need you.
You’re right to feel insulted. Your job is important. Don’t worry. I won’t bother you again.
Well, damn. Now he felt bad for storming out of his cousin’s wedding reception over this. Sometimes he let his temper get the best of him. This time, it had cost him a moment with his family and a client. That was pretty typical of him. In the end, he was always the one he hurt the most.
With no plan, he saved Kace’s number to his phone. Maybe he could still salvage things.
Jamison: I turn my phone off when I’m with clients. I appreciate your apology. Anytime you need my services, I’m fine to continue working with you. No hard feelings.
There. Professional. Very adult like. He set his phone aside and started his truck.
Before he could back from the driveway, he got a notification.
Jamison checked his phone again. He had a job offer waiting.
It was only eleven. There was still time to squeeze in another appointment.
It was Kace. He took a steadying breath and hit accept.
Jamison had proven he could be professional. Money was money.
On autopilot, he drove to Kace’s place. When he arrived at the upscale home deep in an affluent neighborhood, Jamison donned his mental armor.
He made it through Afghanistan. This was nothing.
He made his way to the door. Barely any light shone inside.
The place looked the way it always did when he arrived—like Kace was ready for bed. He rang the doorbell.
Kace answered the way he always did, wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt.
“Hey. Thanks for coming.” He sounded formal, obviously ready to treat this like the transaction it was.
Unfortunately, something strange had happened to his brain since their argument.
Jamison didn’t see him as a client any longer.
Kace knew his real name. They’d danced. Jamison saw his light green eyes and messy dark hair and couldn’t stop thinking he’s beautiful . Jamison was fucked.
It was uncomfortable. They were stiff. He felt exactly like a stranger held him. He made it all of ten minutes.
“I guess I ruined this.” He said the words against Jamison’s massive chest. Kace couldn’t look the guy in the eye.
“What do you think you’ve ruined?”
He sounded half asleep—like he was the one getting the most from this service. That relaxed Kace’s shoulders a bit.
“This arrangement. It doesn’t feel the same. I can’t relax. Like, do you want me to keep calling you James? Or am I allowed to call you Jamison? This just doesn’t feel the same.” Things felt intimate and Kace couldn’t relax because it shouldn’t be intimate.
“Jamison.”
He really sounded dead to the world.
Kace leaned back a hair. A smile exploded across his face. Jamison was out. His discomfort disappeared. It was obvious Jamison had no issues with holding Kace. Kace didn’t even care the guy was sleeping on the job. He still intended to get his money’s worth.
Kace grabbed his phone and set his alarm before using the app on his phone to turn out the lights.
He put the device away, grabbed the covers, and settled back down.
His mind wouldn’t be quiet. When he went to dinner with Lucas, he had hoped his night would end differently.
When Lucas had been called into work, Kace definitely hadn’t seen the evening going in this direction.
He kind of preferred this. Kace liked Lucas.
He was some sort of courier for the rich.
The guy got paid a lot of money to be ready for anything at all hours of the day.
Kace gathered his clientele was small but elite.
Like top one percent elite. But there was something about the guy that kept Kace from chasing him.
He was too young for Kace, for one thing.
He hadn’t truly considered that age gap the night they had met purely for sex.
Sitting across from the guy at dinner felt different.
There was something just slightly disingenuous about him.
Jamison didn’t feel fake. Kace’s mind screeched to a halt.
Wait. Why was he thinking about Lucas and Jamison in the same breath?
The two very different arrangements. Extremely different.
He was being dumb. Jamison was here for the money.
He didn’t see Kace as anything more than a client and why should he see Kace as more?
Kace was just a client. Damn. What was wrong with him…
well, Jamison was rather snuggly. There was a reason Kace kept hiring him.
Realistically, would he want to be in this position with someone he didn’t find attractive?
He had to stop. Kace couldn’t let his mind travel that path.
He had already insulted the poor guy. The last thing he wanted was for Jamison to accuse Kace of thinking he was a whore again.
He just needed to fall asleep, put these crazy thoughts behind him, and try again with Lucas.
Kace just needed to get laid. That was all.
Lucas was too young to have a real relationship with Kace, but he was definitely old enough to be amazing in bed.
Kace had needs. Once it was out of his system, this would just be a service provided. That was it.
Jamison shifted in his sleep. Kace found himself half squashed beneath Jamison’s massive weight.
It was kind of nice. But then Jamison shoved his hand beneath Kace’s shirt, as if seeking warmth…
or bare skin. Kace realized they were both hard and there was no denying it.
The guy’s huge erection dug into his hip.
Kace closed his eyes and focused on breathing.
Jamison was asleep. People couldn’t control what they did in their sleep.
No big deal. Fuck. He really had to call Lucas.
This was about to be the longest night of his life.