9. Hannah Jane
9
HANNAH JANE
C offee. Need coffee. I wondered if Queen’s was open yet.
I moved like a zombie, searching for a hit of caffeine to make me a little less undead. I usually slept like a rock during storms. I loved the soothing sounds of the wind and rain.
But not last night.
I slept like shit and woke up with the bedhead to prove it. I tied the sash around my satin robe and padded through the kitchen, pawing around for the light switch.
Did it instantly make me eighty years old if I installed those clap-on-clap-off lights?
I fought off a big yawn and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“Morning, Princess,” Isaac said from his perch atop one of the stools that circled the kitchen island.
I shrieked and jumped back, clasping my hand over my mouth. “Geez! What the fuck is your problem, Lawson? You nearly made me jump out of my skin!”
He chuckled and drank whatever was in the mug he had pulled out of the cabinet. “Kinda surprised,” he said between sips. “I had you pegged as an early riser, and it’s already—” he paused and looked at his overpriced wristwatch “—nine-thirty.”
“Didn’t sleep,” I muttered, making my way to the coffee maker, and pouring myself a cup of whatever he had brewed.
And it was all his fault for leaving me hot and bothered all night.
Isaac studied me cautiously. “You’re wearing makeup.”
I raised an eyebrow as I chugged my coffee. “So?”
“Do you usually put on a full face of makeup before you come downstairs in the morning?”
“When I have company, yes.”
“You worried about what I’d say if I saw you without all your war-paint on? Seems a little petty to me,” he mused. “I’ve seen you naked.”
“As the reigning dictator of the house of petty, I will do whatever I damn well please,” I snapped.
“Good to see those orgasms I generously donated last night didn’t fix your mood.”
“Are we back to this again?” I said, motioning between us as I finished off my coffee. “Because I didn’t sleep last night, and that means my comebacks are going to be pretty lame.”
Isaac laced his fingers together around his mug. “Actually,” he said, clearing his throat. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. An offer.”
I yanked open the fridge and grabbed one of my pre-made protein shakes. “What kind of an offer?” I asked cautiously, twisting the cap off and taking a sip of chalky chocolate milk.
He looked me dead in the eye and said, “Mutually beneficial sexual relations as defined by a notarized contract.”
The protein shake dropped from my hand, shooting brown goop all the way to the ceiling and across the floor. I sprayed a fine mist across the kitchen island, coating everything in spewed questionable dairy-ish product.
“ Well, ” I gasped, trying not to choke on the little bit of protein shake that actually made it down my throat. “You certainly don’t bury the lede.”
“Hear me out, Hannah?—”
I put up my hand, stopping him right then and there. “I’m sorry, am I crazy, or did you just proposition me?”
“Nothing illegal about it,” he argued. “I checked.”
“You checked ?”
“Yeah,” he said casually. “I called my lawyer and had her look into it.”
“In the middle of the night?! You woke your lawyer up just to ask if a sex contract was legal?” I shouted.
“Yeah.”
“And that isn’t weird to you?” I was hysterical.
He chuckled. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve ever asked my lawyer by a long shot.” Isaac stood up and walked to the sink to grab the roll of paper towels. I was still standing in a puddle of room-temperature shake. “Listen, Princess. I was up all night thinking about it, so just hear me out.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Yeah—no,” I hissed, grabbing the paper towels from him. I ripped off portion after portion until the chocolate shake was slowly soaked up.
“Did you miss the part where I said this would be mutually beneficial?”
“Sex isn’t a business deal!” I shouted. “It’s supposed to be between two people who, at the very least, like being together.”
“And?”
“And I don’t like you!”
He scoffed. “Didn’t seem that way when I made you come so hard your toes curled and you were speaking in tongues. And that was just with my fingers. ”
Did billionaires have Costco memberships? Because his audacity came in bulk.
“Cocky bastard,” I spat as I threw the soiled paper towels in the trash.
Isaac sighed and stood in front of me, blocking my path. He put his hands on either side of my arms, rooting me to the sticky floor. I really needed to mop up the rest of the mess. “Han, I’m going to make you a square deal. It’ll be fair for both of us. The only reason I brought up a contract was because I thought you’d like the terms spelled out.”
He paused, waiting to see if I would slap him again. The thought crossed my mind, but I refrained.
“You want sex that won’t interfere with your man hunt for Mr. Hell Yes Ma’am, and I want good sex that I don’t have to pry out of a party girl I met at a club. And we both know there’s not a chance in hell you could ever catch feelings for me. This isn’t no-strings sex. We’ll establish clear boundaries. One is that we’re not exclusive. If you want to go out on dates and try to hook yourself a husband, you’re free to do so. Win, win.”
I hesitated. And then I kicked myself for hesitating. Why was I actually considering something so… absolutely insane?
All the well-bred conditioning that had been beaten into me through cotillions and my debutant season reared its ugly head. Proper ladies don’t hook up with men, much less engage in legal-but-sketchy sexual relations.
My mother would die if she knew. Maybe that’s why I was actually considering it.
Not that I would ever tell anyone. Ever .
“You’re thinking about it,” he said, dropping the boardroom voice and slipping into that sexy baritone rasp he used in the bedroom. He rested his hand on my waist, gently grazing his thumb under my breast.
“It would never work,” I said calmly .
“Tell me the reasons why you think that, and I’ll make them go away,” he replied arrogantly.
“For starters, I live here, and you live—well, I don’t know where you live. But it sure as hell isn’t little ol’ Beaufort.”
“Home is wherever my plane is. My company’s headquarters are in New York City, so I’m there a lot. When I’m working on the west coast, I crash at Luca’s place. I also own a flat in London. The company has a few properties all over the world that I use when I travel. Next?”
“And that’s another thing,” I said. “I work here. I can’t just skip town for a weekend hookup. I have a job.”
“I can come to you or fly you to me.”
Stupid rich people.
I sighed. Isaac reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I told you that I would make the problems go away. Now, tell me why you’re not saying yes.”
I turned away from his touch and paced back and forth in front of the island. “I have a reputation to protect.”
“And like I don’t?” He chuckled.
I leveled him a glare hot enough to brand a cow. “I’ve seen your reputation plastered all over the cover of tabloids.”
That made him back off a little. “Tell me you’ll think about it.”
I sighed. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
Before he could finish his closing argument, a loud pounding on the other side of my door startled us.
“Yo! HJ,” Chase shouted as he knocked again. “You awake?”
“Get upstairs,” I hissed, shoving Isaac’s very firm ass out of the kitchen.
“Why?” he whispered, stumbling as I pushed him up the stairs.
“Because if Chase discovers you’re here, then Steve will find out you’re here, which means Erica will know. She’ll tell Bridget, and Bridget will tell Maddie, Kristin, and Mel, and I’ll never hear the end of it. Now get! If I don’t answer the door in five seconds, he’ll use the spare key I have out there and let himself in.”
“Han!” Chase called again as he knocked. “You up?”
Isaac scrambled up to the bedrooms, barely getting out of sight before Chase walked into my kitchen.
“Chase!” I squealed, panicked, out of breath, and borderline manic. “What, uh—whatcha doin’ here?”
He lingered in the doorway, dressed in running shorts and a Beaufort Police Department hoodie. “Just making sure you were good after the storm… You know—like usual?”
Ah, shit. He had a point. Chase always walked over after a storm to make sure I was good and didn’t have any property damage. If I did, he’d call Steve, and those two would be out with chainsaws, hauling away downed branches and debris before checking on the rest of the girls.
“I texted you, but you didn’t answer.” He shrugged. “Didn’t know if you lost power and your phone died.”
“Nope. I’m good. All’s good. We’re fine—I mean I’m fine?—”
Chase raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that?”
“Yep. Mhmm. Totally.” I tapped my fingers on the kitchen island to try and look casual.
“You’re covered in—is that a milkshake ?”
“Protein shake,” I corrected. “I just… spilled it.”
He looked around the kitchen, observing the mess that still needed to be mopped up after my attempt at cleaning it up with paper towels.
His eyes landed on Isaac’s abandoned coffee mug. “Uh-huh.”
I chewed on my lip, desperately wishing for him to get distracted and leave. Lord only knew what Isaac was getting into upstairs, unsupervised.
I tucked my hair behind my ears and crossed my arms. “You checked on Kris yet?” I asked.
“Yep. She called as soon as the rain broke. All good. ”
“Mel?”
“Working.”
“Steve and Erica?”
“Good.”
“Maddie and Luca’s place?”
“Secure.”
“You talked to Bee yet?”
The muscles in his neck flexed. Aha! His Achilles’ heel. I hated playing the Bridget card, but I needed Chase out of my kitchen.
He shifted his weight between his feet and looked at the floor. “Figured if she needed something, she’d let me know.”
A loud thump echoed from upstairs. I grimaced and pressed my fingertips into my eyes. These boys were going to give me an aneurysm.
Chase scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “Han?”
“Say nothing,” I grumbled.
He smirked and stifled a laugh. I rolled my eyes. Chase turned to leave but stopped short and tapped his finger against his neck. “I was just giving you a chance to ‘fess up.”
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the large mirror on the wall. My cheeks turned as red as the mark on my neck. Fucking Isaac.
Chase cackled and pulled the door behind him. “Unless you wanna tell me who it is, your booty call can do your yard clean up.”
“Fuck you, Chase!” I sing-songed, flipping him the bird in the most ladylike way possible. Manicured, of course.
I slumped against the door and closed my eyes. “Intolerable men…”
Stomping up the stairs, I shouted, “What the fuck was that, Lawson? Did you learn to play hide-and-seek with elephants? I expected a little more covert and a lot less clumsy. ”
I didn’t waste a second grabbing my phone and firing off a text to Chase.
Hannah Jane
Please keep this between us.
Chase
Keep what between us?
Hannah Jane
You’re the best, Brannan.
Chase
FYI, I will be sending a unit to stake out your place until you tell me who it is.
Hannah Jane
Seems like a misuse of taxpayer funds.
Chase
Don’t test me, Hayes.
Hannah Jane
You and your badge don’t scare me, Brannan. You should see how batshit crazy the people in the private sector are. I de-escalate insane people all damn day, and I do it without a gun. Say nothing to anyone.
Chase
There are condoms in my nightstand. You know, just in case you run out. Feel free to use your key.
Hannah Jane
Fuck you :)
I loved Chase, but he was like an overbearing older brother. Since he had nothing better to do at the moment— like Bridget— he resigned to mother-henning the rest of us. Bless his heart.
“Sorry,” Isaac said, strutting out of the guest room, pulling a rolling suitcase behind him.
“Sorry?” I parroted. “Chase thinks I had a booty call over! And you’re sorry ? ”
Isaac chuckled, confident in the fact that I wouldn’t slug him in the gut. “You’re a grown woman.”
“So?!”
He parked his suitcase at the top of the stairs and strutted across the hall in his bespoke suit and patent leather dress shoes. “And a very attractive one at that.”
Embarrassment flooded my face. Sure, I worked hard to maintain my appearance, but hearing Isaac Lawson say I was attractive made me want to preen like a peacock.
Damn him for getting under my skin like that.
Isaac pushed me up against the hallway wall, pinning my hips down with his. He looked down at me with a ruthless gaze, and suddenly I understood why he was an intimidating businessman. He could go from goofing off to making savage moves in the blink of an eye.
I swallowed and prepared for the kiss, but it never came.
The backs of his knuckles stroked my cheek and down my neck until his hands were resting squarely on my waist.
“Thank you for letting me stay here,” he said honestly.
“You’re leaving?”
He nodded. “My pilot called and said there’s a pocket of good weather for us to fly out of the private airstrip here. A driver will be here in a minute.” Isaac rested his forehead on mine as he cupped my jaw and brushed his thumb across my cheek. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Hayes.”
His poignant rasp sent shockwaves racing down my spine. I chewed on my lip.
“Think about my offer.” It wasn’t a request. It was an order.
I heard a car pull up outside, and Isaac’s phone buzzed. Time was up. I closed my eyes and leaned into him, savoring the luxurious spice of his cologne.
Had anything ever smelled as good? Why was I so sad to see him go ?
Hell’s bells—the man offered me a damn sex contract. I should have been throwing him out on his William Westmancott suit-covered ass, not pining over him leaving.
I pushed that thought away.
“Where are you off to?” I asked softly.
“Luxembourg. A few days there and then back to New York.” He hesitated before adding on, “Just think about it, Han. It could be good for you.”
“Have a safe trip.” It was the best I could do.
No catching feelings.