Chapter 18
Jackson
”Hey, Jackson. Is everything okay?”CK approaches me when I enter the main room where I’d left him when I saw Zara.
”I”m fine,” I say gruffly. My heart is still racing, and my cock is still hard. ”What is this place, dude, and why did you take me here?” I ask him, wondering where Zara is and if her kids are okay.
”What do you mean? You”ve never heard of the Titanium Club before?” he asks me, surprise in his voice.
”No, but I just saw some member of the club almost accost some girl that works here.”
”Accost?” He shakes his head. ”Are you sure he was accosting her? Every girl who works here knows the deal.”
”What deal is that?” I ask, annoyed by this entire evening, thinking about Zara and how nervous she looked when that guy bothered her.
”Anything goes.” He shrugs. ”It”s an unspoken rule. Why? Have you seen a girl you like?”
”No, I”m not into these sorts of places, and frankly, it disappoints me that you are. Women are not for the taking.”
”Dude, I don”t have to pay to sleep with anyone,” he says. ”I just like to come here and look at some titties and some ass, you know.” He holds up his fist, waiting for me to fist-punch him, but slowly realizes I don”t find his words funny and that I’m not his dude. ”Hey, is everything okay? I didn”t think or realize that you”d be so offended by this place.”
”I just saw someone I know. I didn”t realize she worked here.”
”Dude, I hate to tell you, but a lot of these women, they”ll do anything for money.”
”I don”t think she would,” I say. I sigh as I now understand why Zara brought her kids with her. Obviously, she doesn”t have a babysitter, and it seems likely to me that she doesn”t have money for one, because why on earth would she bring her kids to a club like this and to a job interview?
I need to stop making her life my concern. Nor will I go to her apartment to ensure she is okay. Just because I have her number and address in my file doesn”t mean I need to use the information. She means nothing to me. I don’t need her drama in my life. ”I”m leaving,” I tell CK. ”My driver will drop me home. I”ll see you later, okay?”
”We haven”t even discussed the deal!” He looks annoyed, and I shrug.
”Let”s have a meeting in a couple of weeks.”
”But—” My cold, hard glare stops him from continuing with what he was about to say, and he sighs and says, ”Fine.” I leave it at that and walk toward the door, texting my driver to be ready ASAP. The black Cadillac Escalade pulls up as I step onto the sidewalk, and I open the door and slide into the back seat before my driver can get out and do it first, as he’s paid to do.
”You can take me home,” I say to my driver.
”Yes, Mr. Pruitt.” He nods and apologizes for not getting my door for me in time. I wave him off, my mind on Zara. I can’t stop thinking about her and how badly I want her again. I am still in shock that we almost fucked on the couch like that.
I look at my phone and try to concentrate on the meetings that I have tomorrow, but I can”t seem to stop thinking about Zara, her kids, how that man had his hands on her, and the way she tried to argue back with him.
”What the fuck were you thinking?” I mumble to myself. As I shake my head at my stupidity, I glance a woman through the tinted windows of the Escalade walking with two little kids.
What the fuck?
”Pull over,” I order the driver, and he pulls over immediately. I jump out of the car and walk toward Zara and the kids.
She looks at me with an irritated expression. ”Ugh, not you again.”
”What are you doing?” I ask her, angry. ”Are your kids okay?” I look at their tired faces.
”They”re fine. He just ate too much chocolate,” she says, rolling her eyes. ”It”s my fault. I shouldn”t have left them with the entire bag.”
”Yeah, you shouldn”t have done many of the stupid things you’ve been doing.”
”I know that,” she says, ”but I was going to say I shouldn”t have given them an entire bag of chocolate bars. I should have known they wouldn”t eat just one.”
”Sorry,” Luke says, looking up at her.
”Do you want a ride?”
”No,” she says. ”We”re going to catch the subway. Thank you, though.”
”It”s late. It”s dangerous. You and your kids will be better off getting into the back of the car with me and?—”
”It”s fine. We take the subway all the time. Thank you very much.”
I fold my arms and stand in her way. ”I”m not going to take no for an answer. You”re getting into the back of the car, whether or not you like it.”
”What are you going to do? Pick us all up?” She doesn’t know me well because I may do that if she continues to carry on like this. Her kids are watching this interaction between us with curious expressions on their faces.
”Do you really want to take them on the subway this late?” I soften my voice. “What if the boy gets sick again and has to vomit? What are you going to do on the subway? At least in the car, we can pull over for him. It”s not like I”m a stranger, Zara. We do know each other.” I smile at her and wink. ”Quite well, in fact.”
”Fine. Only because it”s late and only because they need to get to bed.”
”Good. You”re not as bad a mother as I thought.” I open the door and watch as Charlotte and Luke climb into the back seat. Zara gets in next to them, and I make my way to the front. I look over my shoulder as she buckles their seat belts. ”I”m sorry, I don”t have any kiddie seats or whatever kids sit in,” I say gruffly.
She shrugs. ”It”s fine. We”ll be okay. We don”t live too far from here.”
”Good,” I say.
”Aunty Zara, can we get a milkshake?” the little boy asks. What? My eyes meet hers in the rearview mirror, and she stares at me defiantly. She”s not their mother. For some reason, the thought annoys and pleases me. I don”t know why. If she”s not their mother, why is she always with them? Where is their mother? I wonder if her sister has recently died or her brother and she”s recently taken possession of the kids. I feel guilty for a few moments. That would make me a real jackass.
”Are you their adopted mother?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
”No. My sister is their mom. She”s just,” she pauses, ”away on a business trip right now.” She looks out the window, and I can tell she”s lying. Where is their mother? I want to ask, but I know she won’t tell me anything in front of them.
”You need to give my driver your address; I don”t know where you live,” I lie.
”Oh, you”re not going to take us to The Plaza?” She smiles at me sweetly.
”I”d be more than happy to take you to The Plaza,” I say dryly. ”I can get two rooms, one for us and one for them.”
”No, that”s fine. Thank you.” She clears her throat. I smirk at her and my eyes seem to find her long legs. Fuck. I want to feel them wrapped around me. I need to get my mind out of the gutter. She”s bad news. Even though she”s not a single mom, that still doesn”t mean she”s someone I want to get involved with. She’s just a one-night stand that just happens to keep reappearing in my life.
She gives the driver the address and then focuses her attention on her niece and nephew. ”We can”t get milkshakes. It”s too late, and you’ve had so much candy tonight, but when we get home, I”ll make you some hot chocolate. Okay?”
”Thank you, Aunty Zara,” the little girl says and yawns. ”I”m tired.”
”I know,” she says, patting the girl on the head. She gives her a loving smile. ”And you should really be in bed. I”m sorry that I made you guys come out with me tonight.”
”It”s okay.” The little girl leans on Zara’s shoulder and closes her eyes.
The little boy focuses on me, and I wonder if he”s thinking of another way to try to splash me with something again. ”You”re the same guy who told my aunt that she wasn”t going to get the job.”
”I guess I am,” I say.
”You”re mean.”
”I think your aunt thinks the same thing,” I say with a laugh.
Zara looks up at me then and smiles as she hugs the boy. I turn back around and look out the front window at the road ahead. There”s an uncomfortable silence in the car as we drive. I want to ask her more personal questions, but I know I can”t in front of the kids.
I hear the sound of paper rustling, and I peer into the rearview mirror. I can see that she”s counting a stack of cash, and I let my curiosity get the better of me. ”What”s that?” I ask her.
”The money I made,” she says, sighing. ”Well, the money that they gave me for tonight. I didn”t last very long, so I didn”t get the full fifteen hundred dollars.”
”Fifteen hundred dollars. For doing what?”
”For dancing and serving drinks, I guess,” she says, blushing.
”And for sleeping with men?” I ask her. She glares at me and averts her eyes to her nephew.
”Sorry,” I say. ”I forgot.”
”Uh-huh,” she says, ”And no, obviously, I wasn”t going to sleep with anyone for money. I”m not that sort of woman.”
”I didn”t think you were, so why did you think you”d get fifteen hundred dollars?”
”Because that”s what they said. That”s the only reason I came out tonight. It”s not like I was going to do this job forever. It”s not like it”s my dream. And I truly had no idea what the job entailed until I got there. At that point, I was already there with the kids, so I figured I’d stick it out for the night.”
I stare at her for a couple of moments. ”How much did you make?”
”Three hundred and forty dollars,” she says, giving me a wry smile. ”Better than nothing, I suppose.”
”Are you wishing that you accepted the offer?” I wonder if she”ll be honest with her answer or if she”ll say something that makes me think less of her.
”Are you wondering if I was going to give him the item he wanted for ten grand?”
”Yeah,” I say, looking down at her skirt, wondering if her panties are still wet, wondering if she”d accept money from me for them. Not that I would pay for her panties. I’m not a creep.
”No,” she says, shaking her head. ”Did it cross my mind for a couple of seconds that it was an amazing deal? Of course. I”m not stupid, but I don”t know that I could wake up tomorrow morning and not feel slightly disgusted with myself.”
”It”s not like you would have done anything with him for the money. You would just have given him something.”
”He wanted me to put them in his mouth and tell him he was a bad boy.” She shudders.
”Would you put them in my mouth?” I ask her, and there”s silence between us for a few seconds. I can”t see her face very well, but I”m almost positive that she”s blushing, and I”m almost positive that I”m growing harder and harder the more we talk.
”I”d put a lot of things in your mouth.” She smirks and checks that the children are still asleep before she finishes her statement with, ”Trust me.”
”Like what?” I say, and she shakes her head.
”Wouldn”t you like to know?”
”Actually, I would,” I say before I can stop myself. I”m intrigued by Zara. I like her. I don”t know her story, but I want to get to know her. I want to know what makes her tick, and I definitely want to take her to bed again. I want to find out where her sister is, why she always has her niece and nephew with her, and why she makes such poor decisions.
”I know that you think you are irresistible to women,” she says to me, ”but trust me when I say you”re irresistible to me—I mean, you”re not irresistible to me.”
”Freudian slip, or would you like something else to slip?”
”Whatever, Jackson.” She checks again to ensure her niece and nephew are not hearing any of this dialogue between us.
”Whatever, Zara,” I say, chuckling. ”So, can I get your number?” I ask her. I want to call her, I want to take her out, I want to take her to The Plaza for a longer amount of time, enjoy breakfast in bed with her, and maybe even eat it off of her.
”No.”
”I said, ”Can I get your number?”” I repeat, just in case she hadn”t heard me correctly.
”I heard you the first time, and the answer is still no.” She shakes her head. ”You cannot have my number. I do not want you to call me. I do not want you to text me. I do not want anything to do with you.” She”s so stubbornly annoying.
She”s sexy, and the more she says no, the more I realize I want to get to know her better. I don”t know what is going on. I don”t know what has shifted in the universe, but everything in my life is changing in ways that make me uncomfortable and make me question if I have lost my mind. ”I don”t normally go to that club,” I pause. ”It was my first time there. I didn”t know what it was. If that’s why you’re saying no.”
”I believe you,” she says. ”I didn”t know what it was either.” She wrinkles her nose. ”I might still have gone if I did. Not that I would”ve done anything, but I need the money.” She sighs. ”But that”s not why you can”t get my number. I’m just not interested in anything with you.” She offers me a sweet smile.
I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life.
I need to be inside of her again.
And the memory of already being inside of her is definitely not enough.