Chapter 37
Riley
Holding me tight, Deacon said, “I met Eloise through the agency. She was a newbie like you, and while we didn’t have an instant connection like you and I did, eventually, we grew close.”
He paused, “Hell, that isn’t accurate. I fell in love with her. At that point, we’d been playing together for a year, but she was a stickler for the rules. If I wanted to see her, I booked through the agency. She told me she was in love with me, too, but that she…”
“What?” I asked.
“She had to keep booking with other men because she needed the money. So, I started booking her three times a week and at least two weekends a month, sometimes three.”
“Jesus,” I said, “how much money did you spend?”
“A lot,” he admitted. “But it was worth it to me because I was in love with her, and I also knew that if I booked her that much, she wouldn’t book with anyone else.”
“Why did she need money?” I asked.
“At the time, she told me her ex had run up her credit cards and spent all her savings, and she was trying to pay off the debt.”
His body had gone stiff against me, and I rubbed his back. “You don’t have to tell me the rest, Deacon.”
“I want to,” he said. “Eloise knew it bothered me that I paid for every… encounter with her. I’ll admit I pushed for more, pushed her to break the rules. She gave me her cell number, and we started talking outside the play sessions. Every once in a while, she would…”
He paused, a bitter chuckle escaping his mouth. “She would throw me a freebie. She’d spend a night with me that I didn’t book through the agency, or she’d meet me downtown for lunch. A few times, we went on real dates, and Eloise would talk about how she hated charging me and wished she could quit the agency.”
He swallowed, and I could hear his throat clicking. “I believed Eloise loved me, and I wanted to marry her. So, I told her I would pay off the rest of her debt so we could be together for real. I had more than enough money, right? Why wouldn’t I do that for the woman I loved?”
“She took your money and then stopped booking with you, didn’t she?” My voice was thin with anger.
“She did,” he said, “I found out that her ex wasn’t her ex. She’d been with him the entire time, and they’d devised the scheme together.”
“Oh, Deacon.” I cupped his face. “I’m sorry she did that to you.”
“She wasn’t just booking with me either,” he said. “The weekends Eloise didn’t book with me, the two nights she wasn’t at my house - she was with other men she booked through the agency.”
“You’re kidding me,” I said.
“I wish I were,” he said grimly.
“The sisters didn’t figure out what she was doing?” I asked.
“How could they? They didn’t care how much she worked or if she booked every night. They made a ton of money from her, and I was the only one she was breaking the rules with by seeing me outside the agency.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said again. “How did you find out Eloise was still with her ex?”
“After she stopped booking with me, I kept texting her, asking her to meet with me to talk. She went to the sisters and said I’d become inappropriate with her, that I was obsessed with her, and that I was contacting her outside of the agency.”
“What an asshole,” I said.
“Eloise counted on me not telling the sisters my side of the story. She thought I’d be too humiliated by how much money I’d given her or that I wouldn’t admit to breaking the agency”s rules. She thought I would fade away quietly, but she was wrong,” Deacon said. “I told the sisters everything. They confronted Eloise, and she initially denied it, but Catherine can be… persuasive when she wants something.”
“She probably threatened to rip out Eloise’s fingernails or something,” I said.
That earned me a small smile from Deacon. “Probably. Anyway, Eloise fessed up to what she was doing, including admitting to having a boyfriend, and the sisters fired her from the agency.”
“That’s it? Did you get your money back, at least?” I asked.
“No. I’d willingly given the money to Eloise, she hadn’t blackmailed or coerced me into giving it to her, so it’s not like I could go to the police.”
“But the sisters couldn’t have done something? She broke the contract. They could have, I don’t know… sued her or something,” I said.
“That isn’t how they work,” Deacon said. “The sisters look out for themselves and no one else. Eloise signed an NDA just like everyone who works for them does, but there’s still a risk that their business would be exposed if they sued her or pissed her off enough. I suspect they paid Eloise a hefty sum to stay quiet, fired her from the agency, and swept the whole mess under the rug. I thought they’d fire me as a client, but they didn’t. I think they were embarrassed that Eloise had fooled all of us.”
“And they wanted to keep their one hundred percent client satisfaction guarantee,” I said a little bitterly.
“That, too,” Deacon agreed.
“All the background checks they do, and this still happened,” I said.
“Eloise was very good at lying and manipulating,” he said. “But it’s not like she had a history of doing this sort of thing. Her boyfriend came up with the idea. I think she was as much of a pawn as I was.”
My body went still. I didn’t want to ask the question. I didn’t want to know, but I had to know. My heart demanded it. “Are you still in love with her?”
He gave me a blank look before cupping my face and staring intently at me. “No. Riley, I am in love with you.”
“What?” I whispered.
“I love you.”
“You love me,” I said.
“Yes.”
“You… love me?”
A smile crossed his face. “Yes. I’ll keep saying yes, no matter how many times you ask, good girl.”
“Holy crap,” I said.
The smile faded from his face. “You don’t believe me because of how I treated you, and I deserve that. But I promise if you give me another chance, I will make it up to you, Riley. I’ll spend the rest of my life making amends for what I’ve done. I was a judgmental prick who isn’t worthy of your forgiveness, but if you give it to me, I’ll -”
“Deacon, stop,” I said. “Of course I forgive you.”
His face looked like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d heard. “You forgive me.”
“Yes,” I said.
His gaze roamed my face before he said, “You forgive me.”
“I’ll keep saying yes, no matter how many times you ask, Mr. Cross,” I laughed.
He crushed me against his chest before kissing me hard on the mouth. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said. “I’m sorry for what Eloise did to you and that it looked like I was doing the same thing.”
“It didn’t,” he said. “You were perfect and did nothing wrong. This was all me and my stupid past trauma. And I was the one who fell into the same pattern. I pushed you to break the rules by giving me your cell number, and I didn’t object when you didn’t want to book through the agency. I knew I was doing what I’d done before, but,” he paused, “it didn’t feel the same. You’re different from Eloise, and I’ve always known that, but I let my emotions get the best of me on Friday night.”
“What she did to you was awful.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him hard. “I understand why you felt the way you did, honey. I would have been suspicious, too. I want you to know that the reason I asked if you would do an overnight booking is because my mom is in the hospital and my dad had to quit his job, so they needed more money from me. That’s why I -”
“You don’t have to explain, baby,” he said.
I rested my head on his chest. “I want a real relationship with you, Deacon. No more agency bookings.”
“I want that too,” he said.
“Thank God because I quit the agency two weeks ago,” I said with a small grin.
“And now you work at the Lobster Shack,” Deacon said.
“I did,” I said. “I got laid off tonight.”
“I can’t even pretend to be sad about that. Not because I’m judging you,” he said hastily, “but because I want you all to myself on the evenings and weekends.”
I smoothed my hand over his broad chest. “I want that, too, but I have to find another part-time job. Hopefully, this one won’t be six nights a week like the Lobster Shack, but if it is, I’ll figure out how to make it work. I’m sure we’ll have a few hours on the weekend, and I could meet you for lunch once or twice during the week.”
He stared silently at me, and I said, “I know it’s not ideal, but my parents need my help.”
“You could get a second job,” he said, “or you could let me pay for your mother’s medical bills.”
“What? No,” I said. “No, absolutely not, Deacon.”
He brushed his mouth against mine, flicking his tongue against my tender bottom lip. I parted my mouth, moaning happily when he deepened the kiss. I clutched the front of his suit jacket, dragging him closer until I could press my breasts against his chest. “Let’s go to bed, Deacon.”
“Soon,” he said. “But first, I want you to be my good girl and say yes to me helping your parents.”
My urge to please him, earn his praise, and know that I was his good girl nearly made me say yes. I pushed away from him, giving him a scowl. “Don’t use my kink against me, Deacon.”
He grinned shamelessly at me. “Is it working?”
“No,” I lied.
“It almost worked, right?” he said with another cocky grin.
“You are the worst,” I said.
He reached out and tugged me close, cupping my ass and giving it a hard squeeze. “You love me even if I am the worst.”
“I do love you and want to be your good girl, but I don’t want to remind you of Eloise or make you think that I’m only with you because of your money.”
“I want to do this for you, baby,” he said, that cocky grin fading. “I want to do this for us. Truthfully, this offer is motivated by selfishness. If I’m helping with your mother’s medical bills, then I get to have you in my arms every night. I don’t like to share, baby, not even with the Lobster Shack.”
“Fired from the Lobster Shack, remember?” I said.
He gave my butt a light slap. “You get what I’m saying.”
“Deacon, it doesn’t feel right,” I said.
“Only because of what I said and did before,” he said. “You’d be making me feel better about how much of an asshole I was if you let me do this, Riley.”
“It’s a lot of money,” I said. “I’m not just helping them with the chemo, okay? I’m helping them with groceries and other household bills, too.”
“Baby, I am disgustingly filthy rich,” he said. “I can afford it.”
“Deacon, I’m not… close with my parents. My mom is emotionally distant, and my dad can be hypercritical of me. Growing up, they weren’t there for me, and I had to care for myself more than I should have. My childhood and how I grew up is a big part of why I seek praise like I do. I love my parents, and they love me, but they have a hard time showing it. They’ll be grateful for the help, but they’re also self-absorbed and a little, well… greedy.”
“I’m sorry they don’t see you for how amazing you are, baby,” he said.
“Part of me is helping them because I’m still looking for that praise and acceptance from them, but I’m okay with it because that’s only part of it. Even if my parents aren’t always kind to me, I can’t watch them suffer.”
“You are an incredible person,” Deacon said.
“I don’t feel incredible,” I said. “I feel… tired, mostly.”
He brushed his mouth against mine. “Then let me help.”
When I continued to hesitate, he gave me a solemn look. “Riley, let me do this. I want to take care of you in whatever form that takes.”
He cupped my face again. “Let me take care of you, baby. Please.”
His love and sincerity shone out from him like a warm beacon of light that melted my fears and healed my cracked and aching heart. I’d been alone for so long, but I didn’t need to be anymore. The person I loved stood before me, wanting me to trust him, to do what he asked, not because I needed to earn his love but because he loved me.
“I want to be your good girl,” I whispered.
“You are my good girl,” he said, “and I want to take care of you.”
“Yes,” I said.
His smile flashed big and bright, and he hugged me hard before kissing me. “Thank you, baby.”
I laughed. “You’re about to change my life, and you’re thanking me. You get how weird that is, right?”
I squeaked when he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. “I’m not weird, you’re weird.”
I giggled as he pulled my shirt over my head and reached for my bra. “Honey, wait. I’m covered in butter, and I smell like lobster.”
“I don’t care,” he said as he nuzzled my neck. “I need you, good girl, even if you’re butter coated.”
I giggled again and slid my arms around his waist. “We could have a shower first.”
“I’ve been in your shower. It’s barely big enough for me, let alone the two of us.” He slid his hand into my hair and tugged my head up. “Pack an overnight bag, and we’ll go to my house. Plenty of room in my shower, and we don’t have to worry about someone trying to break in and murder us.”
“The neighbourhood isn’t that bad,” I said.
“It is,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ll start packing your stuff and moving it to my place.”
“Did you just ask me to move in with you?” I stared wide-eyed at him.
“No,” he said.
I blushed with embarrassment. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t -”
“I’m telling you you’re moving in with me,” he said arrogantly.
“And if I say no?” I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Spanking and denied orgasms for weeks, good girl. Weeks.”
“You wouldn’t,” I said.
“You know me better than that, Ms. Gates,” he said.
I burst out laughing, and Deacon grinned at me before gathering me close. “Move in with me, good girl. I want you in my arms every night.”
“Yes,” I said. “I want that too.”
“Good.” He kissed me. “The year end will be finished on Monday, and assuming Richard and Aiden agree to promote Richard to CFO, I’ll be done at the office by the end of the week.”
“If you prefer, I can wait to move in with you until after you’re finished at the office,” I said. “I understand it could be awkward if the others find out we’re dating.”
“No,” he said, “I’m not worried about that. But we should speak to Aiden about giving you a few days off. We’ll fly to California so you can see your mom, and we’ll discuss what your parents need for a monthly budget and set up a bank account for them.”
I hesitated, and Deacon shook his head. “No, baby, no second thoughts. Filthy rich, remember? Helping your parents until they’re back on their feet is a drop in the bucket for me. I promise.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay. Thank you, Deacon.”
“You’re welcome.” He kissed me again, his lips warm and perfect against mine. “Let’s go home, good girl.”