Chapter 3
Knox
Shit.
As my pen stopped moving on the page, I realized what I’d done.
I’d forgotten Rohan.
“I’m sorry.” I had no idea how long I’d been making notes for the story, but I had a full page of them and he was reading something on his phone.
So at least a while?
Rohan looked up, but he didn’t look mad and he wasn’t even frowning at me. “You finished jotting down your ideas?”
Why wasn’t he at least frustrated?
Did he have one of those problems where he didn’t keep track of time well?
Had he forgotten why we were here?
Did he really want to be a bouncer for the mob that badly?
If he was hoping for that as a new career path—hadn’t he said he’d lost his job recently—I wasn’t sure how long he’d stay helping me.
And I needed help more than the mob did...but both of us couldn’t lose track of time because then nothing would get done and that was a problem I was already having.
“Yes.” I wished that would’ve been enough but communication was key in any relationship. Especially one where I wanted him to do dirty things to me.
He might even be able to help me out with Teddy’s book if he really wasn’t seeing anyone else.
“But I’m going to need you to explain why you’re not at the very least frustrated with me?” I realized that might not be enough information when he flashed me a grin. “Because, well, you should be. I was rude.”
Maybe he didn’t know that was what he was supposed to be feeling?
I was better with imaginary people than real ones, so I wasn’t sure if this was a him problem or a me problem.
Chuckling, he shook his head. “I knew the risk I was taking when I gave you an idea for a story. You had a notebook and weren’t afraid to use it.”
That was a very good point.
Maybe it was his fault?
“You did give me a good idea.” I shrugged, feeling less anxious since it seemed to be a him problem. “And you kept pushing more details into it.”
Yep, his fault, not mine.
He lifted one shoulder and gave a vague nod. “You’re right. I like your stories and I want to see what’s going to happen with them, so I had a reason to be patient.”
He liked my books.
“I will do my best not to get distracted with my characters again while we talk.” That was a promise I thought I could keep, but I set my pen down just to make sure I didn’t get tempted. “We were talking about...about our trade.”
Yes.
Right?
I remembered being turned on and excited he was the one I was meeting and frustrated that he might be dating the young barista.
What else had we been talking about?
“Yes, we’d been discussing how to get to know one another.” Rohan’s smirk gave me the impression he knew how nice he was being to me by not pointing out my scatterbrained recollection of what we’d been talking about.
“Getting to know you is important.” But how was I supposed to be doing that? Was I his new friend? His boss? His dirty love interest?
Oh, not a boss.
“But I would like to get one thing clear right off the bat. I am not your boss. There is no monetary exchange taking place, so there is no reason that I have to maintain an appropriate professional distance.” And no weird power imbalance I had to be careful of.
I’d written about enough of those that I knew a variety of reasons why it would be a terrible idea in real life.
The smirk came back. “You don’t want to be my boss?”
“No, thank you.” He was fucking with me, but in what way? The good kind? “We’re making a trade and that makes us equals in this situation.”
Was that clear enough?
He hadn’t actually said he wanted to sleep with me, but he hadn’t said he didn’t.
And it seemed like he’d made a dick joke when we’d been talking about sizes.
So...
Maybe he wanted to have sex with me?
“I think that’s very fair, but in this trade, you need to be very clear about what type of cleaning earns chapters and what activities would just be me being friendly.
” The smirk had definitely heated up and somehow the way his fingers were trailing up and down his coffee cup looked like he was playing with a dick.
But that might’ve just been my slightly interesting perception of the situation.
Maybe?
Oh, trades and chapters.
What type of cleaning?
He did realize how I could take that sentence, right?
No, I wasn’t going to focus on that part because I wouldn’t be able to think if I got any harder. For some reason, we’d been designed so that we didn’t function when there wasn’t enough blood in our brains. So if the big head needed to work, the little head needed to wait quietly.
And that never happened right.
“Yes, I...” Oh, how would a character say it so they didn’t sound like a pimp or something negatively inappropriate? I wanted nicely inappropriate so I didn’t chase him off. “I’ll take any help you can give me when it comes to household management.”
I wasn’t going to be greedy.
“As I’m sure you’ve read in the group, I get...distracted.” I was trying to be polite but honest; however, he chuckled.
“And you do anything but clean.” The grin he flashed me that time was teasing but still just as sexy. “You started a whole new series just to keep from having to go grocery shopping.”
I was right.
He was real and in the group.
Lori owed me five bucks.
“Yes, and that turned out to be a much better financial move even if I had to get a lot of delivery that week.” That series was still selling very well.
Rohan laughed and shook his head. “I’m glad.”
Did that mean I had a helper?
“I was thinking once a week?” Was that too much? “I have no idea what the practical side of this trade should look like. I’m not sure what my books are worth.”
Not in the context he was talking about, at least.
His expression shifted between thoughtful and skeptical. He knew me very well...including how little patience I had, so he didn’t leave me curious for too long. “Are you actually writing Teddy’s book or is it all in your head? That’s going to affect my trade value here.”
Well, that was a legitimate point in our early negotiations, so it seemed logical...and his question made sure I got to talk about the fun parts of the book, so I was going to count it as a good sign either way.
“I have, in fact, got words down in the story.” That had him looking cautiously optimistic, so I explained more about what I’d accomplished. “I’m five chapters in, but I’ve come to a stumbling block that I need to research.”
Yes, that sounded very professional, but for some reason Rohan’s eyes were twinkling, so it might not have come across that way.
Oh well.
“Teddy was abducted by an alien that’s very curious about human sexuality and he wants to explore somnophilia.” No gasps or weird looks from anyone around us but his eyes lit up. Perfect. I didn’t have to explain what that meant.
I’d been told to be polite or I couldn’t write in the coffee shop anymore.
But luckily for me, no one ever knew the scientific-sounding dirty names for things, so it looked like I could continue explaining the problem to my new helper. “That’s not something I’m familiar with firsthand, so I’m having to do more extensive research to write the book.”
Still sounded very professional.
“As you know, I want scenes to be very realistic, but I’m having trouble wrapping my head around this one.” I was doing well, maybe not quite honest but definitely professionally appropriate. “That scene would move forward much faster if I had firsthand knowledge.”
Shrugging, I played dumb and ignored the sexy gleam in his eyes. “But what can I do? However, I can reassure you I’ve been diligently pushing forward with the story even though it’s not my primary work in progress.”
I was killing people off for that.
It was still fun but dealt with totally different bodily fluids than the aliens.
“You’re right.” Somehow Rohan managed to look thoughtful and wicked at the same time.
“Researching something like that would be difficult. But as your friendly equal who assists you, I would be willing to do my best to help, if you get to the point that you really need someone to practice that with.”
Oh, he was very good at sounding professional too.
“Thank you.” Very much. “So we will leave that option slightly open-ended until we’ve ironed out the other details and we’ve gotten to know each other better.”
I was impulsive, not stupid, no matter what Lori seemed to think.
“That sounds like a very logical plan. However, I’m sure there are a variety of ways we could facilitate getting to know one another just to make sure we’re thorough, of course.”
Had I mentioned I was impulsive?
“That sounds very logical as well. Thank you for pointing that out.” It was good to know I wasn’t the only person at the table who was horny and slightly stupid.
Lori was going to love him once she stopped worrying.
She liked mob characters too.
What else would be logical, though?
“I have several interesting fact sheets that might provide you with important information.” Yes, that was smart...I’d have a character do it, so I definitely should. “Can I have an email to send them to you? The one you emailed me from is on my computer, not my phone.”
His head cocked, but after a second he nodded. “Of course.”
I repeated the fairly inoffensive email that was a mix of letters and random numbers I thought might be an important date to him, and he humored me as I did my best to push away my curiosity. “There.”
It only took a few seconds for him to check his email and then his smile flashed wide and wicked. “You’re right. They are important fact sheets.”
Limits lists and my most recent negative test results.
Very important indeed.
“I’m glad you feel that way.” And that I hadn’t offended him or read the situation wrong.
Occasionally, for some strange reason, it seemed that just because a man was flirting didn’t mean he wanted to know that I liked to be spanked. It was odd, but I was glad not to have that issue with Rohan. “As we said, communication is central to a good relationship no matter what kind it is.”
“Yes, no matter what kind.” His grin shifted into a sexy smirk. “Just not a working one for us. We’re trading skills as friends.”
Hopefully very interesting friends.
“Exactly.” Feeling like we’d made progress on the fuck Knox into the mattress front, I smiled. “Please feel free to review the fact sheets at your disposal and let me know if you have questions, but I don’t want to forget the reason we’re here.”
“Your messy house.” Rohan delivered his response so flatly that all I could do was shrug.
He wasn’t exactly wrong.
“And your ebooks and paperbacks.”
Once we found those.
His soft chuckle said he was thinking the same thing. “If I’m going to find those, I’m going to need permission to go through the house. You’ll have to let me know if there are any areas that are too personal for me to tidy.”
Did he think I had a sex dungeon?
Was he wondering if I was a prepper?
A dealer of antiquities that might not exactly be legal?
For some reason, he chuckled. “Adult things, naughty boy.”
Oh.
That wasn’t nearly as fun, but it was probably a reasonable question. “No, my plans were to show you those when we did our walk-through.”
Maybe that’d been jumping the gun a bit?
My logic had been that he’d need them eventually. I still didn’t think I was reading the situation wrong, and I was confident I’d been right when he laughed, a deep, sexy sound that sent a shiver through me.
Yay, I’d been right.
As he relaxed back in his chair and picked up his cup again, his smile seemed slightly silly this time. “I think I’m going to like you as much as I like your books.”
Oh, that much?
He was very passionate about Teddy.
“Then would you like the tour now?” Might as well keep going forward. There was really only one way to know if he was a serial killer or not. “I had to go get the mail again and I don’t have anywhere else to put it.”
The pile on the table had tumbled over and it was a disaster of epic proportions.
“I will make sure you have the chapters of Teddy’s book that are already done before you leave the house today.
” I was pretty sure that would be the only thing to keep him coming back once he saw the state of everything.
“Oh, and I’ve got a few bonus chapters from Nicky’s book.
I haven’t put that book out anywhere yet, though, because I keep forgetting about it. ”
I was very good at focusing on what was in front of me...but not so good at remembering it once I was done with it.
“It’s not edited yet, though.” Lori was going to kill me. “I keep forgetting to tell Lori about it too.”
Rohan pressed his lips together, but based on the twinkle in his eyes, he wasn’t frustrated with me. “I think we’ll use that as a bribe to keep me coming back.”
He was so smart.
“I like the way you think.”
Fingers crossed he was as good in bed as he was at managing me.